No Turning Back

No Turning Back
Words of Faith 10-31-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 13
[17] 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." [18] So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.

Sometimes the longer route is better.
The journey from Egypt to the desert and on to Canaan was difficult. There was a much quicker and more direct route to the Land of Promise, but it went through Philistine country. That was not a problem for the Lord. He was able to win any imaginable battle.
The problem was that if the Israelites faced war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. The Lord knew their hearts. They had not yet learned to entrust the battle to Him.
So the Lord planned a different, more difficult route. There would be a dramatic exit from Egypt for the children of Israel. He would lead them to a dead end at the Red Sea. They would face certain death without His mighty hand. There would be no choice but to trust the Lord, and they would remember their deliverance forever. The path of retreat would be closed off behind them, and they would take a much longer road into the wilderness. In the wilderness, they would learn who they were as a people and how to trust God.
The truth is that the biggest battles we face are not the real conflicts but the imagined ones. It was not a war that might have turned the Israelites back but the prospect of war. The same is true for us. The Lord goes before us to face down our true enemies, but if we have not learned to trust Him, we might turn back. We might prefer the slavery of Egypt. The fundamental issue in life's journey is the temptation to go back to Egypt because of fear.
Franklin D. Roosevelt articulated famously this truth in his first inaugural address, saying, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." That is not Scripture, but it expresses a Scriptural concept. Often, the fear of the "giants in the land" and not the giants themselves will defeat us. With God for us, who can be against us?
How is your walk with God? Are you afraid of the future? That fear can become a significant barrier to growing in the Lord and getting to where He wants us to be. Fear can cause us to retreat back into the patterns of the past. The key is to trust Him wholly and walk after His direction and call in obedience.

Father, I want to know and trust You wholly. Reveal Your plan to me. Order my steps. Seal off the way of retreat behind me. Teach me the walk of faith. Deliver me from fear. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.