Courage to Move Forward | Exodus 13-14

Who do you got winning the Superbowl tonight? Tonight, two teams will take the field knowing that their entire season comes down to a few hours. Every play matter. Every yard matters. Sometimes the whole game comes down to one moment at the goal line. The last time the Seahawks and the Patriots placed was in Superbowl 49. The Seahawks were on the 1-yard line. One yard from winning the Superbowl. Everyone in the stadium thought that they were going to run the ball in. Pete Carroll said this, “We sent in our goal line personnel; it was not the right matchup for us to run the ball. So on second down, we throw the ball really to kind of waste that play. If we score, we score. If we don’t, then we’ll run it on third or fourth down.” In other words, he let the opposing team set his strategy and he second guessed himself and it failed. But instead, Russell Wilson threw a pass, and Malcolm Butler intercepted it. Game over. One yard from victory, and they lost. Sometimes in life, we are just one step away from trusting God and moving forward in faith, but we freeze in fear.  

The Exodus is the most quoted and noted stories in the Old Testament, and its implications are found everywhere in the New Testament. God has just rescued Israel from Egyptian bondage with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Now, the people are free and living in their new faith. But it won’t be long, until that faith will be challenged. Fear is going to paralyze them from moving forward. God is going to have to come to their rescue to teach them to be courageous. We can have courage to move forward because God’s presence guides us and His power saves us.