They had their hopes set for the Promised Land.
Waking up every morning to take one step after another to reach that place they had only dreamt about.
The place of freedom and a fresh new beginning.
The place where they would raise their children in safety and in love.
And yet there they were, standing in front of the Red Sea.
At a total dead end.
Their hope vanished.
Their fear mounted.
And they wondered if they made a mistake in following Christ.
If Moses misheard God’s calling on his life.
If all their walking and faith was in vain.
If what God promised them was too good to be true.
Because they were stuck with absolutely no way to get across.
But what they didn’t know was that the greatest “dead end” in history was not a dead end at all.
It was just one of God’s greatest opportunities to display His faithfulness once again.
To show them how He could provide for them no matter what obstacles they faced.
To prove to them that nothing in the world was impossible for Him.
Certainly not helping them cross the Red Sea.
God knew that the route He would take them on would lead them straight to that dead end.
Maybe He could’ve chosen another way.
But He didn’t.
And He doesn’t for you either.
Sometimes He allows the road you are walking on to lead you straight to a “dead end”.
To a place where you are stuck and there’s nothing more you can do take one step forward.
To a place where you can no longer rely on yourself to get somewhere and you can only depend on Him alone.
It can be a scary place.
You might begin questioning whether or not you heard God correctly and if you’re even on the right path.
You might want to give up on ever meeting that goal you wanted to reach or ending up at the place you are going to.
You might want to turn around and walk right back.
But if you find yourself at that place today I want to remind you that there are no “dead end’s” for God.
He is not limited by time, by people, or by circumstances.
He is not limited by valleys, mountains, by deserts, or by oceans.
The only way He can be limited is by you and your lack of faith in Him.
The Red Sea didn’t stop the Israelites from crossing over.
And your circumstances, your obstacle, your mountain won’t stop you from moving past your “dead end” if you have faith in God.
Where you are today is no accident or mistake.
Even if it makes no sense.
God is using the situation you are in right now to shape you and prepare you for the place He wants to bring you to tomorrow.
He will get you where you need to go at exactly the right time
Trust Him with His plan even if at the moment you are standing in front of a “dead end”.
He will help you get to the other side if you keep on believing.
Never lose hope in what He can do in your life and what mountains He’ll help you climb and seas He’ll help you cross if only you trust Him.
Be blessed and walk with faith in Christ! -Anna… ♥
“I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters…” -Isaiah 43:15-16
I didn’t know I was in need of this nourishment…until I ate your words. Breath-taking. God-breathed.
I just received a “hit” this morning…and now, a “hug.” I’m good. I know Whose I am.
That’s awesome Rose! Sometimes we don’t know what we need to hear until we hear it. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
Wow… I have been in that exact situation before, not knowing up from down, but standing on a word I received from God. I had many nights when I’d ask, “Did I misinterpret God’s word?” Thanks for posting this… it really resonated with my heart.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has been there before Caitlin! Sometimes all we have to hold onto is God’ Word when we are facing the unknown but I have learned that no matter how dark or seemingly hopeless the situation we find ourselves in is His Word will get us through absolutely everything! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Have a lovely day!
Hallelujah! Very timely post! It’s another reminder of what God has been telling me over the past couple of weeks. God is in control!
Thanks for sharing. Happy Thanksgiving!
Amen Marilyn! God really is in control!! He can turn any circumstance around if we just surrender to Him and trust Him! Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as well. Be blessed!
Love this. Thank you for the encouragement, sister!
Thank you Kate. I’m glad it was encouraging. 🙂 Be blessed!
Amen!
Reblogged this on Forgiven and Free.
Good writing
Reblogged this on Passionate Dreaming and commented:
Very recently I let go of all my misgivings, all my hurts, and all my lost faith. I found God. And the Lord took me in his arms and held me tight. And I felt it deep in my chest. I felt it to my soul. I had reached my dead end and he was there for me. When I thought all these years he never heard my call. He came at the perfect time. I am so blessed to have found him. And now I will never let him go!
My heart and my prayers go out to all those sensitive hearts that are seeking the Lords will in these days. Those deeply feeling they are hitting dead ends in their hunger and thirst for righteousness in these days. Those who yearn for true justice in our world and for the return of our King. Those who feel their trials and circumstances are too much at times. Mothers praying for their children. Folks living with unsaved partners who are trying to fly but it is with one wing. Those going through financial hardship, illnesses and set backs. Those bereaved. The widows and the orphans. Those struggling outside our carefully crafted church clubs and those within them who feel lost in the crowd with no voice. The cost of truly following Jesus in these times is becoming ever more testing. Jesus hears our cries brothers and sisters. He knows us and He will be faithful to us in the valley. The mountaintop will be that much sweeter when we have endured the valley. We are never alone. His rod and staff comfort us in our darkest hour. May the Lord bless you and keep you all, may His face shine upon you and give you peace.
Good post, Anna. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving. Natalie 🙂
Thank you Natalie. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving as well. 🙂 Be blessed!
Who will go? Who can the Lord send? I feel deeply that this is on His heart. Who will go to those in need. Our professional masquerades that we call Christianity in our institutional settings will not reach them. We must go to them. Whoever they are. This is church. We are the church. They will not fit into the way we do church. They will not have the comfortable jobs. The American dream for millions lies in ruins. It is dead. How can the most over indulged, wealthiest nation on earth have folks living on the streets? How is this possible? We need to seek to be true intercessors. To carry His heart and His burden rather than let Him down with our own comfortable Christianity that we have created for ourselves. Ask not what our Saviour can for us but ask what we can do for our Saviour. Nit to advance ourselves but to serve others. Our cosy church clubs and are warm words amongst ourselves mean nothing. Who will go to the AIDS or cancer sufferer dying in the hospital? The widow and the elderly in their loneliness? The bereaved? Those in poverty and loss? Those trapped in addictions? Those facing prejudices? Who will come alongside them? Who will serve them? The heart of Jesus is mercy. Mercy to the lost, the poor and the dispossessed. Not condemnation but mercy. They have met their own dead ends in their search for compassion, acceptance and non judgement. As another year comes to an end and we meet together in our safe created zones….our churches…..how much difference have we made? How many souls have we let down? How many have been lost to eternity on our watch?
“To a place where you are stuck and there’s nothing more you can do take one step forward. To a place where you can no longer rely on yourself to get somewhere and you can only depend on Him alone.” So true for me at the moment. I (and my husband) have spent so many years doing things in my own strength and come up with less then best. My husband and I are now in a place where we are ‘stuck’ and have no choice but to depend on God. It has been such a huge time of growth in our faith in God. We have learnt so much about God, prayer, intercession, praise, fellowship and each other. We are also learning what it means to walk in faith and obedience and believing that no matter what the circumstance looks like, God’s faithfulness remains the same. He will bring us to the promise land – His promise land, not the one we constructed and fell short of. God post again, blessings xx
Others are in the same place. Be encouraged. Though hard at times, this is the best place to be. This is where He wants us to be. Our dependence is in Him alone. Not in church, family, job, not in dependence in our own plans….abiding and trusting fully in Him. This is the narrower path. John 6 v 68-69
v 67. Let us resolve never to leave Him but to give Him all. Lay all down for His sake. Face the challenges in His grace. Be martyrs to the cause and decide that all His teaching is what we seek to follow, not just cherry pick some of it that appeases us and gives us comfortable lives.
Really great scripture, challenging but encouraging. Where else am I to go, there is no life outside the eternal source, being Jesus.
May the Lord continue to draw close to you in your journey.
You’re singin’ our song…so I’m humming in harmony…
Good one…we all should resolve from a heart of unity to sing from the same hymn sheet….hymn title; “All for Jesus”.
I’ve been through a lot this year, and have asked God, “Why?” quite a lot. My Sunday School teacher asked me why I thought everything had been happening, and I simply answered, “So in the end I can give God the glory.” But many times I have forgotten about this time. And I have felt like I was at a dead end. Then Thanksgiving and your post came along. It made me realize that I had to be thankful for and that God doesn’t ever see things as dead ends, but as a way to bring me closer to Him. Thank you.
Amen! There are no dead ends with God! I’m glad this post came right on time for you. Sometimes in the midst of hard circumstances it’s easy to forget that God sees the big picture and He’s working it all out for our good. We just need to always remind ourselves to stand on His promises and know that we wouldn’t be where we are at today if God didn’t plan to use it to strengthen us, build us, and prepare us through it for tomorrow. May you continue to trust Him to remain faithful to you in your life. Be blessed!
Reblogged this on Christ in cookies and commented:
So good! My spiritual self has been waiting for this for a long time. God is always there. Even at the dead ends. Wow. So true.
Well put Anna!! Just what I needed today… God knows our complete life, he has it all mapped out. we only know it by day by day, month by month, year by year and season by season.. God knows the big picture, we only see it in pieces… It is easy to give up, but you know I have come to realize God does not want us to give up on that plan and gift that He wants us to do for His glory.. We might get frustrated about the waiting time or having the feeling we are on the wrong path.. I know I do, I get very frustrating.. But I know that plan and gift that God has whisper to me and it is easy to get discourage when others do not see that plan that God has place on your heart.. It makes you think that you are on the wrong path.. Yes Satan would want you to think you are on the wrong path, because he does not want God to be glorified.
The verses I was thinking about when I read your post was
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight
I feel we get in the way of God’s plan for us when don’t trust Him and go of on our own trying to make God plan work..
Thank you Anna for your post 🙂
Thanks Darleen! That’s one of my favorite scriptures! And I agree with you… sometimes we need to get out of our own way for Christ to work in our lives. Sometimes we try so hard to make certain things happen instead of trusting God to make whatever needs to happen happen at the right time. He alone knows what’s best for us and we must always be confident of the fact that where we are today is the best place for us because that’s where He want us to be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂 Be blessed!
so there trully is light at the end of the tunnel. thank you very much Anna,may our mighty God bless you amazingly!!!!!!!
Yes there is!! With God we always have hope no matter how dark or uncertain the road in front of us is. 🙂 God bless you too Tebogo!!
Great post. You write beautifully.
Thanks Kendall. Hope you have a blessed day!
Beautiful post! It was exactly what I needed to hear at this very moment. Sometimes we have to be reminded that nothing is too hard for the Lord! Thanks for sharing:-)
Thanks Keishawna! I agree. I always need to remind myself of how incredible and Almighty God is and that nothing is impossible for Him no matter how hopeless the situation may seem!
Thank you for this. It helps me cause I been going through a process with trying to get with this new job and tonight I read in my email that their not going any further with my process cause of education. The job would have helped provide a whole lot for me and my family but now im back to square one. Where I work now I only make 7.50 an hour and it dont even pay my rent for real. I have a wife and 8 children to provide for along with that. Im highly appreciative to even have a job but its at a school and im out of work when schools out. So now its summer and im at a road block. I can only trust in the Lord that he knows best. Please pray for me as I pray for myself.
Wow Aaron. That is such a difficult situation to be in 🙁 I will definitely pray that God will help you find a new job so that you can provide for your family and not have to worry about your future and finances. May He open a door for you that only He can open and help you stay strong in faith despite the circumstances. Be blessed and never give up! God always makes a way for those who trust Him.
i was 50 meters up free climbing (no ropes) on a mountain with a friend when i realized we had strayed off the route we were climbing and had no way up or down we were stuck on a ledge in what felt like quite a helpless predicament.my friend was using the internet at the time and found ur blog which God used to reassure us he would make a safe way for us minutes after this we managed to get a climbers attention who was further over the rock face and he helped us down i realized afterwards this was also a life/spiritual lesson on faith thanku for putting this up and praise God!
Wow. What an amazing testimony and what perfect timing for you to stumble upon the blog. I’m glad God used it to reassure you to trust Him to help you make it out safely. Praise God!!
Thank you for this lovely and encouraging post. Just what I need to hear since I’m in despair. Right now I am at a financial dead end. One of the worst sickness ever! Hope after hope on what I thought were signs from God for deliverance have not materialized. I feel that He has forgotten my faithfulness to Him. Seems like I went of course by hearing Him wrong and therefore out on my own now with no way out. However still counting on Him to eventually deliver. No choice and still the best option. God bless!
“No choice and still the best option.” Yes, sometimes God allows us to come to a place of absolute need and reliance that the only one we can run to for help is Him. Even when you feel forgotten know that you never are. Sometimes His answer to your needs just come later then we expect them. Don’t give up praying and trusting Him to provide for you!
Thanks for your words of hope and encouragement Anna. I need it. God bless!