Scripture: Psalm 12:5; Exodus 14:23–25 (KJV)
“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD…” — Psalm 12:5
There is something about a calculated attack that frightens us more than an obvious one. It is one thing to know that someone does not want you to succeed and another to discover that they have thought through their moves, closed possible exits and appear to be waiting for you at the only place left to turn.
That was Pharaoh at the Red Sea. He had changed his mind about releasing Israel and came after them with his chariots. Soon, the Israelites were standing between water and an approaching army. Pharaoh must have looked at that scene and thought he had calculated correctly.
Yes, he had. He calculated Israel’s vulnerability correctly and the speed of his chariots. He calculated that there was no ordinary road through the sea, but he made a mistake, a big mistake, of leaving God out of his calculation.
Sometimes we give too much credit to the people and circumstances working against us because, admittedly, their strategy looks good. They seem to know what they are doing. They may even have anticipated what you would do next. But there is something they can never do: they cannot anticipate what God would do.
Before Israel reached the sea, God knew what He would do with the sea, because all of Pharaoh’s obstacles and plans were already under God’s authority. So why are you allowing someone’s strategy to convince you that God has run out of options?
We spend too much time studying Pharaoh, and while we are studying Pharaoh, we are forgetting God. There are things you do not need to know in order to survive. Israel did not need Pharaoh’s strategy document; they needed God’s presence.
Then Pharaoh made another calculation. When the sea opened and Israel entered, the Egyptians followed. Maybe it looked obvious: If they can go through, so can we. But they discovered too late that a door opened by God for His children cannot be hijacked by the enemy. The same sea, the same pathway, but different outcomes. Israel walked through it, but Egypt was swallowed in it. The difference was not the road; the difference was who God was fighting for.
Another humiliating occurrence that happened to the most technologically advantaged army in the story was that their chariot wheels began coming off. The machines that made them fast became difficult to move, and suddenly the pursuers wanted to become fugitives.
“Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.”
That sentence came from the tyrant Egyptians. They finally understood what Israel needed to understand from the beginning that it was no longer Israel versus Pharaoh, God had had enough and stepped in.
The stronger army can suddenly become the fleeing army; their trap can become an escape route. The pursuer can become the one looking for a way out. The Bible in Psalm 12:5 gives us words for such moments: “Now will I arise, saith the LORD.” There is a “now” that belongs to God. A time when what He has watched, heard and permitted to continue will continue no further; a time when the sighing nobody else heard reaches the All Powerful God.
Have you become more conscious of what the enemy can do than of what God can do? Have you spent more time calculating their next move than seeking God?
Then change your focus today. Seek God earnestly for His move. There are situations that do not need another night of worrying about what Pharaoh will do next. They need a people who will stay before God and cry, “Lord, let Your now come!” Move over the battle that has lingered, over the situation that appears carefully crafted against us. Cry to God until your attention shifts from the strength of Pharaoh to the sovereignty of God.
So don’t end today ruminating over the enemy’s strategy. Hunger for the move of God. There is a “Now will I arise” that can change the direction of a battle.
PRAYER
Father, I have seen enough of what the enemy can do. Lord, I want to see You move! You said, “Now will I arise.” O God, let Your NOW come!
Let Your NOW come over battles that have lasted too long, over every stubborn situation, over every oppression, every pursuit, every voice that has said, “There is no way out.”
Arise, O God! Step into what I cannot change. As You arose for Israel at the Red Sea, arise for me! Let the pursuer lose his strength. Let every evil calculation fail. Let what was meant to trap me become the place where Your power is revealed.
Lord, I am hungry for Your move! O God, show me what only YOU can do!
In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
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