IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL GOD SAYS SO!

It is not over until He ( God ) says so.I don’t know about you, but the story in Exodus Chapter 14 encourages me a lot as it shows God in His Splendor and the manifestation of His Glory. This story gives us faith to believe that nothing is impossible with God. And also helps us realize that when we trust in God, He will never fail us. Even David knew that because, in Psalm 25:1, He says, ” In You, I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame…

• Before we can talk about it, let me first give you a brief summary.
• 3 lessons to learn from this chapter to help you understand that it is not over!
• It is in the impossible that God’s power and Glory is unveiled.
• God’s ways are Higher than your ways
• Total surrender is the ultimate key to the miraculous.
• God will sometimes use the long route to get you out!
• Conclusion

It’s such a beautiful thing to know that God is always on your side and that when you rely on and put your trust in Him, He will never let you down. He says so in His word. He is dependable and capable too. It’s not like He will tell you something He cannot do.

Do you have areas where you feel stuck and now that the only way you will prevail is if God comes through? Do you desperately need God to move on your behalf? Have you hit a dead-end that only God can come through? God wants you to know that it is not over. Then join me as we delve into the chapter.

Before we can talk about it, let me first give you a brief summary.

God basically spoke to Moses and told him to tell the Israelites to turn around and camp at Pi Hahiroth between Midgol and the Red Sea. God wanted them to camp on the shore of the sea. In verses 3 & 4, God says this.

 "Pharaoh will think the Israelites are lost. They are confused. The wilderness has closed in on them" God, then tells Moses " Then I'll make Pharaoh's heart stubborn again and He will chase after them. And I will put Pharoah and his army to put my Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am God."

It happens just as God said to Moses and Pharaoh organizes his army and they come after the Israelites once he realizes that he had let his free labor go. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them, they were terrified and they cried out to God. They then turned to Moses and started complaining. I love Moses’ response, this is what he told them. ” The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still” Be still? Here were the Israelites surrounded. Before them was the Red Sea and behind them, an army equipped with the latest army gear. How were they to keep calm? When Moses turned to God, God told him to stretch out his rod and split the sea. Have you hit a dead end as they did? Does everything around you, look grim and you don’t have a way out?

On the other hand, the pillar of the cloud went to the back and acted as a barrier between the Egyptians and the Israelites such that no one team could infiltrate the other. At the Israelites’ end, the pillar of fire acted as their light the whole night while there was darkness in the Egyptian camp. That’s a miracle in and of itself. You know oftentimes we tend to think that the only way we can know that God is with us is when things are going well for us.

The Israelites did not even recognize the miracle in the fact that God was with them in the wilderness. Do you know that sometimes God might not get you out of a situation, but rather wants you to recognize that He is with you in it? He goes with you even when you go through the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes it will take you recognizing that God is with you when you are in a storm. Never forget that even when you are in a storm, God is with you.

Throughout the night the east wind made the sea go back and the seawater splits into two such that there was dry ground in the middle God then told the Israelites to walk on the dry ground. When God says that He will make a way where there seems to be no way, this is what He means. He might not get you out of the situation, however, will take you through it. Do you have an area in that you have been asking God to deliver you? Maybe God wants you to know that He will use that situation for your good and deliverance will come from the very place you are in.

God safely delivered the Israelites and got them to the other side, but that was not the case with the Egyptians. The Israelites did that and got safely to the other side. That however was not the case with the Egyptians because once they got to the middle, God instructed Moses to then stretch out his rod so that the sea could go back to its original form. The sea swallowed the Egyptians and God dumped them in the bottom of the sea. That’s intense!

3 lessons to learn from this chapter to help you understand that it is not over!

It is in the impossible that God’s power and Glory is unveiled.

God wanted the Israelites to know that they could rely on Him and that is why He took them through that situation. Can you imagine being surrounded by water on one end and an army on the other end? There was no way that the Israelites could get out of that predicament unless God intervened. They were stuck. Do you feel stuck in your current situation? If yes get ready because God wants to show out through you and lead people back to Him.

God wants to use you as a sign and wonder. Can you imagine the celebration they must have had after God delivered them? God brought them out of an impossible situation. The good news I have for you today is that God wants to do the same thing for you. Just like He made a way in the sea, He wants to make a way in your impossible situation.

He wants your life to be a testimony where everyone who sees you will see Him because they will know that the only way you got out of that impossible situation was through God’s intervention. And the only way God can do that is by eliminating all the options that will share His Glory. There was no way in the natural the Israelites could escape. They lacked the skills and resources to fight and they also had no escape route. It does not matter how unqualified you are, God will do it anyway. It is when you get to the end of yourself that God can intervene. And thus they had to rely only on God. This brings me to my second point…

God’s ways are Higher than your ways

Another thing we need to realize is that God will use unorthodox ways to bring your deliverance. It is important to note that the parting of the Red sea was the very first time that God made a way in the sea. This had never happened before. This goes to show that we should stop limiting God. He is not a man and nothing limits him. After all, He is Sovereign and creator too. This is for you if you have been feeling like your situation is irreparable or that there is no way God can get you out of your predicament. It is true that you have hit a dead-end in the natural realm, but that is not the case in the spiritual realm.

Be open to what God is saying and do not restrict Him from moving in the way He wants to. Remember that you are in partnership with God and this means that God will never violate your free will. Could it be that God is asking you to do something that has never been done before so as to deliver you? Maybe what God is calling you to do goes against your background and you have been doubting that it is God. Why not give it a try. After all, you have hit rock bottom already.

The Israelites had no way out they were between a rock and a hard place. So they had no option but to go through the road that God had created for them in the middle of the ocean. I have to caution you by telling you that God will never contradict Himself or His character so anything He tells you will be in line with all He says in the word. The only difference will be the methodology, so test the spirit before you take any step. You can test the spirit by asking yourself these questions.

• Does it align with God’s word?
• Does it align with God’s character?
• Is this action congruent with the principles outlined in God’s word?

If the answer is yes to these questions, then you have your green light to move forward with what God is telling you. Just because it has never been done before does not mean that it can’t be down. And newer does not always have to be evil, it can be God’s strategy only that it is unfamiliar to you. Don’t be afraid to down the road that has not been traveled before when God is the One leading you. He says that He will show you great and unimaginable things that you do not know. This is yet to show you that it is not over for you.

Total surrender is the ultimate key to the miraculous.

It was not until the Israelites turned to God that God moved. Can you imagine if Moses had not asked God for help, would the Israelites have escaped the Egyptians? Probably not! God has the solution to every problem you are facing in your life as He is The Solution. But the only way you will experience Him is by putting all your hope in Him. In what areas are you limiting God by not trusting Him? Isn’t it time for you to get to the end of yourself?

God wants you to get to the end of yourself so that He can reveal Himself. I think it is time for you and me to let go of control and give it back to Him who is. Stop relying on your own strength and rely on His strength as without Him you and I are nothing! And as you trust in God you need to have faith that He has everything under control! God wants to move on your behalf, but He is waiting for you to cry out to Him. He is gentle and will never violate your free will. This is one thing you should realize if anything feels forced it probably isn’t from God. Conviction encourages while condemnation pressures and brings guilt and shame.

God will sometimes use the long route to get you out!

In Exodus 12, we see that God opted to take the Israelites to Canaan using the longer route. There was a route that would have taken them only 11 days, but God chose a different route! Why? God knew that it would be easy for the Israelites to go back to Egypt when the going got tough and thus He decided to take them through the long path. Also, God wanted to renew their minds and get the slavery mentality off of them.

The Israelites did not realize that God favored them because of the bondage they experienced in Egypt. And so God had to take them through the wilderness where He would train them on their identity. The wilderness was also a place where they received the warrior skills that equipped them to fight for their promised land. As long as you are not in your promised land, I want you to know that it is not over.

Conclusion

Everything God takes you through is preparation for what you have prayed for. There is never a wasted season with God. One can never know the reason until one gets to the other side. So if you are going through a hard time right now, I want to encourage you by telling you that there is a purpose in your pain. Acknowledge the pain and don’t give up. Keep holding on because you will see the Glory of God unveiled in your life when you do. God always has greater and better for you and me and thus as long as we trust in Him and are patient He will show out with us and everything will make sense! God has not brought you this far to leave you here. He has so much more in store for you! It is not over until God says so.