Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

“Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.” Psalm 77:19

I am not sure if I have ever read this verse before but this morning, I consider some of the hidden gems to be mined from this statement from the psalmist to God. He recounts through words and probably song the story of when the Israelite's were pinned between the approaching Egyptians and the expansive sea. Two gems I mined were considerations of alternatives to this scene. It never really dawned on me that the miracle God could have performed was to exterminate the army…confuse their direction…hide the Israelite's from their sight until they retreated. But instead God allowed the pursuit and threat of death to go right up to the edge of despair. This group of God’s chosen people found themselves ‘between the devil and the deep blue sea.’ I can’t imagine the scene of feeling the breath of death on your back while facing the challenging journey up ahead through the great waters! But as our verse this morning states, God’s way…His will…was through the sea…was walking into the great waters.

The second consideration was that someone had to be the first person once the waters parted to put toe to seabed trusting that the waters would remain stacked in place. What if that person turned to the others and stated the path was uncertain? What if he chose fear instead of faith, unbelief instead of certainty? Fear and doubt could have ravished the group and paralyzed their walk. But he didn’t and prompted one of the most courageous steps of faith recorded in the Bible. All those behind him followed, fled and were delivered from their enemies.

I know that God calls us all to the water’s edge at different points in our lives. If you feel the breath of your circumstances behind you closing in, take comfort that God has gone before you and provided a path for you through the great waters. Even when we cannot see His footprints, we can be certain that where there is a will…His will…there is a way!