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Don’t Let “What If” Keep<br />
You from Walking Free<br />
“And the children of Israel shall go on dry We often forget to read the Bible in color.<br />
ground through the midst of the sea.” These were real people with real issues.<br />
Exodus 14:16b<br />
How hard would it have been to walk<br />
forward and trust God to give them safe<br />
I am the queen of ‘what ifs’. What if this passage through? They had been in<br />
happens? What if that happens? What if bondage for so long they barely knew<br />
both of these things happen and then God at all (Gen 15:13). They were<br />
that happens as a result? Five thousand skeptical of Moses and suspicious of God<br />
different bad scenarios can flood my (Ex 6:7-9). They’d seen miracles, but they<br />
brain before I even take the first step weren’t convinced that God was for them<br />
towards the door.<br />
and not against them…not yet (Ex 14:11).<br />
And now here they were faced with two<br />
I can imagine the Israelites were no terrifying options: return to slavery, or<br />
different than me, as they hovered over walk an impossible route of escape that<br />
the first step of obedience through huge required absolute faith and trust (Ex<br />
walls of water. Directly ahead and 14:9-16).<br />
looming miles above them stood giant<br />
towers of roiling ocean, split wide and The path of healing is like this one. We<br />
hovering behind invisible barriers. reach an end to ourselves, our strength,<br />
our resources, and our understanding.<br />
Freedom lay through those columns, but We wind up beached between two<br />
what a terrifying walk of faith! I have no options that are equally petrifying: We<br />
doubt they were thinking some ‘what ifs’ can go back to bondage, and most likely<br />
of their own. What if God changes His die there (live all our lives a slave); or we<br />
mind and the water comes crashing back can walk the impossible road to freedom<br />
down? What if I get stuck in the mud and (face all those what-ifs with bravery).<br />
I get left behind? What if I fall and I can’t<br />
get back up again? What if the Egyptians Most people choose a lifetime of<br />
catch up to us and we all die anyway? bondage over the road that seems<br />
10 <strong>NJR</strong> <strong>DIGITAL</strong> <strong>MAGAZINE</strong>