And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only]to be silent.” The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night and the night passed without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:13-22)

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For most of us, the approach of the Christmas season each year is deeply linked to the idea of waiting. The story of the Christ Child’s birth itself speaks of the long-awaited end to centuries of watching and praying for the promised Messiah. I can remember certain Christmas gifts in my childhood that I waited for so anxiously that I couldn’t even sleep on Christmas Eve. You may have similar memories. You may recall waiting for a special gift, waiting to see special loved ones at Christmas gatherings, or waiting for that favorite Christmas dish or treat that you only got to enjoy once a year. In this passage from Exodus, centuries before Isaiah first prophesied about the coming Savior - the Hebrew people had been praying for deliverance from Egyptian bondage and waiting for hundreds of years. Their day of rescue had finally arrived, and in the most epic fashion! Can you even imagine what it must have been like to walk along that path with a towering wall of sea on each side of you? And yet after that glorious display of God’s love that gave them their first sweet taste of freedom - the one thing they had been waiting for - they quickly forgot and began to complain to Moses and Aaron about their unhappiness less than two months after they left Egypt. A sad picture of our sinful human nature! This Christmas season, let’s challenge ourselves to remember all the times God has already responded to our waiting. And let that be what we share with a world who doesn’t yet know him.

 

Questions to Ponder: Who are the people crossing my path that seem to be living life without the peace of God in their lives? Does the faithfulness of God show up in my conversations? Is there something I’m waiting for now? As I wait, what deliberate steps can I take to be grateful for what God has already done in my life?

 

Prayer: Lord of Heaven, as we live our lives in waiting - waiting for answers, waiting for relief, waiting for change, waiting for healing, waiting for anything - help us exist in a mindset of heartfelt gratitude for what You’ve already done. Let us never forget the miracles in our past only accomplished by our true and faithful God. And let this be what we speak of in our coming and our going as we interact with people in our lives who may not know You. In the name of the One and only Jesus we pray, Amen.