the great escape

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23

In my study of sheep, I found out something that surprised me. Sheep are deathly afraid of running water. When the snows melt in Israel, the small streams that flow gently down the mountainsides can quickly become raging torrents of water. Thirsty sheep are so afraid of the rushing stream that they would rather die of thirst before they would drink from it. The reason is this: Sheep are not sure-footed animals, and they instinctively know that they could easily slip as they try to drink from a fast-moving current. If they were to take the plunge, their heavy coats of wool would soak up the water and in a matter of seconds they would be dead.

A good shepherd leads the sheep beside still waters, or stilled waters (Psalm 23:2). The shepherd understands their fear, so he will take some rocks and stones and divert some of the water to more level ground that is safely away from the rushing water. The shepherd constructs a small, safe stream of water. There the sheep can drink without fear, for he has literally stilled the waters.

God stills the waters for his sheep as well. When the children of Israel were finally leaving Egypt after hundreds of years of captivity, they were suddenly between a rock and a hard place. The Red Sea was in front of them, and Pharaoh's pursuing army was behind them. There was no escape. But God stepped in. He rolled back the water and stilled it, and his people passed through on dry ground. Then the waters became “unstilled” at the appropriate moment and their enemies were wiped out.

The Red Sea was blocking their escape, so God made it a source of escape. And he did that by stilling the waters. What is the Red Sea in your life today? God is bigger than your sea of circumstances. And he can make those circumstances work miraculously for you as he made the Red Sea work for his people long ago. —Steve Farrar stevefarrar.com

seeking: Father, what have you brought to mind as I have considered your ability to still my tumultuous seas? What has your calming touch meant to me this moment?

responding: How have I been turning away from God and his ability to still the waters of life? • What have I been fearing that God may actually use as an escape for me? Why?

Father, thank you for your loving, calming work in my life. I rest in the reality of your presence and protection. You are my God and I worship you.

following: God is greater than any problem we will encounter.

our journey