Walls

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ¹² Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Exodus 14:10-12

This was the time when the Israelites were forced against a wall: Egyptians at the back and the Red Sea in the front. There is no place to go. Most of the time I feel this way that I am held against a wall. But, praise be to God! I have someone to cling on to in times of trouble. I have a Moses to part the Red Sea every day of my life. And, He is even greater than Moses.

During this time of crisis, we are in a situation that we have no place to go. Our enemies are closing on us, and in front of us is a sea of red. We thought that our lives would reach its end: “For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” We think that there is no hope just like what the Isrealites feared.

However, there is hope.

When I was in and out of the hospital because of tribulation, I was locked up in a room where there is no window. The aircon is so high that I am shivering in the cold. I have no bed, not even a blanket, and so I was desperate to get out. I was shouting to get the attention of anyone who could help me with the blistering cold in a windowless room. Alas, there was no one.

I prayed to God that night, for there is no one to turn to. I was alone, cold, and trembling in fear. I went to the corner of the room and kept on praying until I slept. When I got up, I remember they put me back to my bed and missed my blanket badly and thanked God.

It was one of the darkest days of my life, but it’s also the brightest. God gave me light when I’m in darkness, and God gave me warmth in the coldest of nights. I pity the people who have no God because who are they going to call on to in times of distress and trouble? The Israelites called on to the Lord for help, and He answered.

“Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.”

Jeremiah 29:12