After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13:20-22 (NIV)
The phrase “unprecedented times” seems irrelevant to say now. We all know we’re walking in the depths of uncertainty on a daily basis. We feel it in our bones, and we are weary on a different level.
And yet, there are also some of us who are starting to dream again, envisioning what the future will hold and how we can get there. Hope and fear, anxiety and joy mingle together, and we cannot go back to what once was. We can only move forward together.
Perhaps that’s how the Israelites felt as God delivered them from Egypt and led them toward the wilderness. All they had was His presence to lead them by day and by night. They had to keep going forward even when they couldn’t see a way through, but God’s presence was always with them — protecting them, providing for them, and redeeming them.
And the same goes for us today. When we can’t imagine how we will survive the day, when we struggle to believe in hope, when everything seems lost, His steady hand guides us.
Let’s trust that the God who split the Red Sea is able and willing to make a way through for us too.
– Valerie O’Regan