“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!”” Exodus 14:11-12
The Israelites had just been set free — but freedom didn’t feel like victory. With the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh’s army behind, fear returned. “Why did you bring us out here to die?” they cried.
This was their defining moment. Not the plagues, not even their departure from Egypt — but this: standing still when there was nowhere to run, and trusting God to make a way through the impossible.
Then God moved. The sea split, the people walked through on dry ground, and the waters closed over their enemies. They didn’t lift a weapon — they only had to walk forward in faith.
Sometimes the hardest obedience is standing still long enough for God to act. We want to fix, flee, or fight. But defining moments often come when we’re cornered — and God shows us who He really is.
The Israelites didn’t just escape Egypt. They watched their past get buried behind them, and stepped into a new identity as a free people.
Something to prayerfully think about: Are there fears that are keeping me from standing still and trusting God to make a way?
