14^th September

“How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands. . . . They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.”

Psalm 112:1, 7

Bad news can seem to follow us wherever we go sometimes, particularly in this day and age. Yet, for Christians, believers and followers of God’s word, there is no bad news too great for Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus is always making a way out.

When the Israelites were finally set free from Egyptian captivity, on their journey to the Promised Land, they were faced with extremely bad news: namely the Red Sea. Before them stood a huge uncrossable expanse of water, and behind them, the fast approaching Egyptian army, led by Pharaoh who changed his mind about setting the Israelites free. So bad was this news, that even the Israelites started panicking and saying ‘Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? … Why did you make us leave Egypt?’ (Ex 14:11). Yet there was one among them who didn’t fear the bad news: Moses, a man who delighted in obeying God’s commands and who feared the Lord. He didn’t let this bad news crush him, but confidently put his trust in the Lord, and God through Moses’ staff and prayers, parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could safely cross.

Today, you may be faced with a ‘Red Sea’ situation of your own: bad news that has taken you back. Perhaps it is so bad you feel that you are being attacked from every side and have no way out. Yet there is hope friend. Trust in God and He will part your Red Sea and make a way for you to walk through it. We don’t need to fear bad news, because we can be confident that our God, King and Lord will care for us. That is why we read His word. Because in it we can be reminded that our God is the Saviour, Protector and Red Sea parter.