“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward’.” (Exodus 14:15).
 
The people of God were facing a time of extreme crisis as they stood with the waters of the Red Sea in front of them and the vast Egyptian army breathing down their necks from the back. They had no means of crossing over the sea and saving themselves.
 
It was at that time that God gave the command to Moses for them to Go Forward. The command is clear, but the means of fulfilling the command is unknown until God speaks to Moses in the next verse and tells him to stretch out his rod, making the waters part and allowing the people to cross over.
 
Moses’ faith never wavered, even though he himself didn’t know how the people would be saved until God revealed it. He left us a great example of total faith that God’s will would be accomplished.
 
God doesn’t promise miracles to help us achieve His wishes in our day, but we need to have the faith to use the resources we have at our disposal in Going Forward and carrying out whatever He has commanded in His word. Through answers to our prayers and His providence, His desires will be carried out. That assurance is all we need.
 
 
 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Nearing the close of this, one of Paul’s most positive epistles, and having accomplished his purpose of admonition and encouragement, the apostle begins his conclusion with a terse but important instruction: “be strong.”
Not only does this self-defining word communicate the idea of strength but also it can be translated as “empowered.” Since these people have already reached a level of faith and commitment not seen in many of the other churches, Paul calls them to bind themselves so closely to Jesus that they allow His power to work through them.
As disciples of Jesus, we can internalize a great lesson from this instruction. We can allow Jesus to work through us by intensifying our knowledge of His word, by listening to Him intently, by performing according to His instruction and example, and by committing our lives in service to His Cause.

“Who among you fears the Lord?
“Who obeys the voice of His Servant?
“Who walks in darkness And has no light?
“Let him trust in the name of the Lord And rely upon his God” (Isaiah 50:10).
Even though this prophecy could have been pointing to a particular time in Old Testament history, it strongly appears to be a prophecy about the time of the Messiah. In fact, the overriding message could apply to any generation of God’s people: trust in the Lord and rely on God.
Every generation desiring to please God has had the obligation to “fear the Lord,” “obey the voice of His Servant,” and “trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God.” As well, every generation walked in darkness until Jesus came and brought light.
So, for those of us in the Christian Age, we can easily see the prophecy’s application today. We live in the time when people the world over have every opportunity to be brought out of spiritual darkness into the marvelous light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since this light is available to us, there is no reason for us to walk in darkness. We can see the message of salvation clearly, and we can certainly rely upon God.

“For You have armed me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me” (Psalm 18:39).
David is retrospective as he recalls the abundant blessings God has bestowed on him, giving him encouragement when he is down and victory when he feels he can’t win. And He gives God the glory for all of his successes.
While the battles David speaks of here involve physical conflict with other nations, the battles we are involved in—at least, for the most part—are of a more personal nature: hurts, personal conflicts, relationship problems, professional difficulties, financial woes, serious health issues, tragedy—the list could go on.
Just as David received strength in his day, we today also receive strength, although it is in quite a different format. God does not provide direct, miraculous strength today, but He has given us everything we need to cope with whatever life throws in our pathway.
We have His word as a constant, readily available source of encouragement; and through it, we can develop the faith we need to rely upon God and to deal with life.