Day 4: Through the mighty waters
Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen (Psalm 77:19).
Heavenly Father, Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; You display your power among the peoples (Psalm 77:13-14).
You declared through the prophet Isaiah that our ways are not Your ways (55:8); and in Your word we sometimes see this in a very literal sense. You often lead us along paths we would not have chosen or even imagined. But ultimately You lead us along the right paths for [Your own] name's sake (Psalm 23:3).
Father, Your ways are holy, and we are constrained by our human limitations. You know us, and You know that the right paths are often obscured by our fear, our doubt, our human rationale. This was true of Your people when You delivered them from bondage in Egypt:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea (Exodus 13:17-18).
Lord, in Your wisdom, Your omnipotence, and Your goodness, You open for us the paths of peace and the paths of promise, even though they are longer—even though they lead around by the desert road, and through the sea, and through the mighty waters. But You are the God who promised Your people: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you (Isaiah 43:2).
O Father, help us to believe You—to trust You even though [the] waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging (Psalm 46:3). Help us to know with certainty that You are our refuge—to know with confidence that You are near—even though Your footprints [are] not seen (Psalm 77:19).
As we step forward into the future, into the unknown, calm our anxious hearts. Speak the truth of your promises deep into our souls. You are an unchanging God. Let us hear the words You spoke through Your servant Moses, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring..." (Exodus 14:13).
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