DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

praise the lord for his amazing victyory

from WELS.net Daily Devotions 04/24/2019

The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Pharoah’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. Exodus 15:2-4

There are many times in life when someone might believe that they will never see or feel anything good ever again—someone who has lost a loved one; someone who struggles with an addiction; someone who has lost a job, a friend, or a fortune. A person can begin to believe that there is no hope.

In Exodus 14, the nation of Israel wasn’t far from the land God had promised them. But coming after them was a well-trained Egyptian army very eager to destroy them, and right in front of them was a large body of water blocking the way to their freedom. But they learned that just because you can’t see how anything good can happen doesn’t mean it can’t.

In Exodus 15, Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to God for opening a way to freedom that they never saw coming. God showed Israel that he was with them, and that he was fighting for them, when he divided the waters of the sea, allowing Israel to walk to safety before bringing the waters together again to destroy the enemy that was pursing them.

You may never be caught between an Egyptian army and a body of water as large as the Red Sea. But the same God who delivered the Israelites has provided a way for you to enter an even greater Promised Land. Through the perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has guaranteed that your enemies of sin and death will not keep you from the one place where there is no more pain and where every tear is wiped away.

Maybe you have days when it doesn’t feel like you’re on your way there. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t. Because of Jesus, you are.

Prayer: Father in heaven, we praise you for making a way to heaven that we could never find on our own. May our hearts and lips forever praise you for the gift of salvation. Amen.

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