Trusting God’s Plan

Exodus 14:5-14 (NIV)

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

This morning as we think about what we’ve been though, what we are going through, and those things that we are still on the way to I want to preach and teach on the subject of “Trusting God’s Plan.”

Let us pray……….

Introduction

I do not like being in tight places, the term for this is claustrophobia. Not that i freak out or anything like that, it is just a situation or place I would rather not be in. That being said riding in elevators is something I do to get from where I am to where I need to go, if stairs are an option then that is what I do.

Some time ago when i was working in Va. it was a summer day, the building A/C was having issues and I needed to quickly get to the 7th floor and was on the 1st floor. The elevator was the there so I got on and as it began to go up it stopped!

This has been known to happen with this elevator but it would start back up quickly but this time it didn’t! The people on the elevator at first were good just waiting for it to start back up, but after about 5 minutes when it didn’t they began to get loud.

At first the began to complain about why this is happening, then started beating on the doors, then arguing with each other. I am standing in the back, with my eyes closed, said a little prayer and trying to keep claim myself.

Then one of the people on the elevator looked at me and said,”Phil, you are the IT guy, can’t you do something about this?” I am thinking I work on computers not elevators, we are all in the same boat here. I looked at the elevator doors and off to the right was a little door that said “Telephone” I opened it up, picked up the phone, it rand 3 times and someone picked up. I let them know that we where stuck in the elevator and they said, “Oh maintenance was supposed to have blocked that elevator we are working on it. We will turn it back on to get to the next floor.”

The elevator started back up and the guy who called on me said,”I knew Phil could fix it!” I said, “No, I couldn’t fix it I just knew who to call on that could fix it!”

Sometimes God calms the storm for His child to make it through. Then sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms His child through the storm.

- As Christians, we often face challenges, obstacles, and oppositions in life.

- It can feel like we are trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, with no way out.

In Exodus 14, we find the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. They have just been freed from Pharaoh and are now facing the Red Sea. In this passage, we are thought three important lessons about “Trusting God’s Plan” through His words and actions. First, we will observe the importance of trusting in Gods plan, then we will interpret the significance of the pillar of cloud and fire, and finally, we will apply the lesson of standing firm in faith.

Main Point 1: Trust in God’s Plan

We see that the Israelites were terrified when they saw the Egyptians pursuing them. They had no way to escape as the Red Sea was in front of them. It seemed like they were doomed to be caught by the Egyptians, and their freedom was short-lived.

Despite being witness to the mighty works of God in their lives, the Israelites still lacked trust in Gods plan. They were quick to forget how He had brought them out of Egypt with signs and wonders. Their fear caused them to doubt God’s power and sovereignty over their lives.

Similarly, in our lives, when we face challenges and obstacles, we tend to forget about God’s faithfulness and power. We must learn to trust in His plan for our lives, even when things seem impossible. He has a perfect plan for each one of us, and we must have faith in His leading, no matter how difficult the circumstances may get.

Main Point 2: The Pillar of Cloud and Fire

As we move on further see that God placed a pillar of cloud in front of the Israelites during the day and a pillar of fire at night. This was to guide them on their journey and to protect them from the Egyptians who were pursuing them.

The pillar of cloud and fire symbolizes God’s presence and protection over His people. Just as He led and protected the Israelites, He is with us on our journey we just have to Trust God’s Plan. He goes before us, guiding us and protecting us from the dangers and temptations of this world.

We must remember that God is always with us, leading and protecting us. We should seek His presence and guidance in our lives, especially during times of uncertainty and struggles. Just as the Israelites could trust in the pillar of cloud and fire, we must trust in Gods presence and protection over our lives.

Main Point 3: Standing Firm in Faith

Moses tells the Israelites to stand firm and see the deliverance of the Lord. He assures them that God will fight for them, and they only need to be still.

Moses tells them….

The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."