The twenty-third President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), was a Republican from Indiana. He held the office for four years, 1889-1893. It was during this time that the White House was wired for electricity. History tells us Harrison was intimidated by electricity. He and his wife, Caroline (1832-1892), refused to touch a single light switch. They were so paralyzed by fear that the Harrisons slept with the lights on if no servants were present to turn them off. Fear has a way of paralyzing people. Faith has a way of mobilizing people. Have you ever been paralyzed by fear? Are you a person of faith or fear? That takes us to our reading Exodus 14:10-15.
The main character in the story is Moses, the one God selected to liberate the Hebrews. His story is well known – enslaved in Egypt, they prayed for help and that help came in the person Moses. As the story goes, after a series of plagues, the Egyptian Pharaoh freed the Hebrews. That must have been an exciting day. For the first time in their lives, they were free. Their journey went well until they reached the coast of the Red Sea. It was at that moment someone noticed their greatest nightmare – the Egyptian army was following them because the Pharaoh had changed his mind; they were trapped. If you use your sanctified imagination, you can imagine the scene. The Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptian army was behind them. Moses stands in front of the crowd and implores them to move forward trusting God. Instead, the people were paralyzed by fear and did three things the faithless have always done. Their reactions are still witnessed today in the lives of the faithless, who refuse to move forward and claim God’s calling for their lives. Let’s look at how they reacted to this difficult situation.
Some of the Hebrews refused to move forward because they looked back. Do you know of anyone who keeps looking back? That is what the Hebrews did. The Egyptians were behind them, and the Red Sea was in front of them. Things looked bad. What did they do? They glamorized the past. In verses 11 and 12 Egypt is mentioned five times. Slavery looked good next to death. They looked back to Egypt and remembered the good old days. When was the last time you recalled the good old days? Or perhaps you have never recovered from some negative experience in your past? Years later, those individuals still have a hold on you. How often do you look back? Is it possible the past is preventing you from fully living today?
Some of the Hebrews refused to move forward because they were consumed with self-pity. Do you know of anyone who loves a good pity party? In verses 11 and 12 they are speaking 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!” American author and activist Helen Keller (1880-1968), who could have easily wallowed in self-pity, once said, “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” How many pity parties have you thrown for yourself lately?
Some of the Hebrews refused to move forward because they blamed others. Do you know someone who is always blaming others for their shortcomings? Verses 11 and 12 again tell us, “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!’” What are the Hebrews doing in those two verses? They are blaming Moses for their situation. If Moses hadn’t taken them out of Egypt, then they would not be in this difficult situation. Do you know of anyone is having a difficult time taking responsibility for their own lives? Is it possible you have blamed others for your shortcomings?
Moses is the only one in the story who trusted God. While the rest of the Hebrews are paralyzed by fear, Moses trusts God and commands the people to move forward. Verse 13 says, “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’”, verse 15 says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.’” The choice is really yours. You can be paralyzed by fear, or you can move forward trusting God. What is God calling you to do, but you are simply too afraid to act. I have two words for you: move forward!
Years ago, I read a story about a man by the name of Janez Rus. A member of the Nazi party, he fought in the German army during World War II. In 1945, the war ended and Rus began hiding in the basement of his sister’s farmhouse, because he was afraid he would be arrested. He wasn’t discovered until 1977. He hid for 32 years! He lost 32 years of his life. He missed everything because he was paralyzed by fear. How much of your life are you wasting because you are paralyzed by fear? What is God calling you to do but you refuse because you are afraid? Don’t be like the fearful Hebrews. Be like Moses who trusted God and moved forward. American evangelist Bruce Wilkinson (born 1940) once said, “Dependence upon God makes heroes of ordinary people like you and me!”
Russ Adams 