Crossroads Junction

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Crossroads Junction

 

“I will sing unto the LORD, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:1-2).

crossroads-trouble/crisis

We humans rarely think about God unless we are in trouble. God’s specialty is helping those who call out to Him in crisis. The nation of Israel is a fine example. We can learn a lot from these people as their history unfolds in Scripture.

In one instance, the Israelites had just been freed from slavery in Egypt. About 600,000 men and their families had left Egypt in a hurry. The Egyptians had said “Good Riddance!”

Tragedy 

Mysteriously, the firstborn in every Egyptian household had died simultaneously on the same night. That weird tragedy was the last in a series of unnatural disasters. Blood, frogs, lice, flies, sickness, sores, hail, locusts, and darkness pummeled the Egyptian economy over a period of weeks.  The death of every firstborn child was personally devastating. That became the catalyst to allow their slave labor force to leave permanently.

A New Road Ahead

It’s one thing to go on vacation. It’s another matter to move. Whether we are temporarily leaving home for a fun time away or going someplace else to live, it helps to have some goal in mind. The Israelites knew they were moving away from Egypt but they had no clue about their destination. Thankfully, God did.

Plans Change

Their slave population had been gone only a day or two, and the Egyptians were still reeling from their losses. Now they had regrets about letting their wonderful workers depart. Perhaps they could reverse course and get them back! Overtaking their former Hebrew slaves was a breeze with 600 chariots and expert horsemen to drive them.

Israelites Protected by Fog

The small Egyptian army found those they hoped to recapture sprawled by the sea. The night was overtaking both parties. Fog developed between the two groups so thick the Egyptians could not see the Israelites. Not having boats to get to the other side of the sea, the Israelites were trapped. The Egyptians would surely capture them at daybreak; not a pleasant thought.

God makes a Way

At that moment God used His power to turn the sea into a highway. During the night the Israelite camp of people and their large number of livestock walked on the congealed seabed as though it were a road. The water parted and functioned as walls, helping direct their path to the other shore. By daybreak, the Israelites and all their animals had made their way over to the other side.

Egyptians Pursue

The Egyptians looked the situation over, greedily longing to get their hands on their former slaves. They plunged into the seabed, so congealed it was hard enough for their chariots, horses, and men to navigate it. They all made it into the sea, the water behaving like walls on either side of them.

Israelites watch in amazement

Meanwhile, the Israelites watched in safety on the other side. They observed the waters of the sea return to normal. It was a sight to behold, seeing the water continually rise higher than the tallest of the Egyptians and horses. Frantically clawing for air, they disappeared beneath the waters of the sea.

Free No Longer Slaves 

Now the Israelites were freer than they had been when they left Egypt. Not only were they no longer slaves, but their former enemies who had been so merciless to them were dead, drowned in the sea!

Rejoicing

With this sight fresh in their minds, the Israelites began to dance and sing praises to the LORD. The song lyrics are recorded for us. “I will sing unto the LORD, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:1-2).

God Helps In Time of Crisis

In this story we find God helping the Israelites in their time of crisis. This is a worst-case scenario. Our mindset seems to limit us to call on God only when we are in crisis mode.

I Can’t But He Can

The issue could be we are blind to our need for His help before we get in deep water over our heads. It is difficult for us to realize we are always needy. So many of our needs we can meet by going to the store or bank, or with our own ingenuity.

Knowing God who knows our needs

The more we grow in our relationship with God, the better we see the extent of our need for Him. This fuels a great desire to be with Him so we can get to know Him better.

Reflect a deeper Walk

Then the journal of our lives reflects a deeper walk with God, which others see. Seeing God at work in our lives is attractive to non-Christians, and encouraging to other believers.

Crossroads

We are always standing at “Crossroads Junction.” May we turn to God more often and seek Him in the mundane so we will be more ready when a crisis occurs.

 

Shirley Logsdon

 

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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