My daughter invited me the last three weeks to take a drive to a nature spot for a hike. It’s such a great way to break up the tedium of the day, with a 30 minute dose of exercise. Her son especially loves it- he was born for nature.

Moses led the people of Israel out from the oppression of forced labor in Egypt. Certainly, it was more than a 30 minute hike. It was more like a 3-day journey that turned into 40 years of wilderness wanderings.

The great comfort of this passage comes when the angel of God positioned Himself between them and their pursuing enemy. He was their salvation and Moses was established as God’s anointed leader for the people.

We may not understand why difficulties come or how they will turn out. The great comfort comes from knowing God’s Son, our Savior, who comes between us and the pursuing enemy…the curse of sin.

In one of the wildfire videos, I saw an elderly woman in her home saying, “just don’t forget about me”. It really touched my heart. How often do we take for granted our physical abilities to care for ourselves. Those who are caregivers understand what an important responsibility it is.

In a way, we all are like that woman when it comes to our spirituality. Lord, just don’t forget about me! To be utterly dependent on our Savior means we must call out to Him in our time of need.

Great and powerful is our God, to deal with the curse of sin. Yes, our sin (past, present and future) is covered by His blood. If we could see the blessing that is ours, we would not hesitate to be “in Christ”. Even as nature waits to be liberated from its groaning, we call out “just don’t forget about me, Lord”. -Teresa

Exodus 14: 19-31 (ESV)

19 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, ²⁰ 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^[b] without one coming near the other all night.

²¹ 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. ²² 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. ²³ The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. ²⁴ And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,²⁵ clogging^[c] their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw^[d] the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. ²⁹ But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.