When He Leads Us Through

There was no way the Israelites could get across the Red Sea. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Egyptian army was in hot pursuit.

The people got so upset that they turned to Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11 NLT).

You know the rest of the story. The Lord caused the waters of the Red Sea to part, and the Israelites crossed through on dry ground. Then those same waters closed on the pursuing Egyptian army.

God didn’t keep the Israelites from the trial, but He kept them through it.

The same is true of the three courageous teenagers Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into a fiery furnace because they wouldn’t worship a false god.

Of course, God could have delivered them from the furnace altogether. Instead, He allowed them to be thrown into the furnace. But when the king looked in, he said, “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” (Daniel 3:25 NLT).

Again, we see that the Lord kept them through the trial but not necessarily from it.

But what about when an accident or a tragedy happens in the life of a child of God? Where’s the keeping power of God then? In asking a question like that, we’re assuming that we somehow have the inherent right to live long, easy lives and die peacefully in our sleep one day.

The Bible says that our “future is in [His] hands” (Psalm 31:15 NLT). This means that the Lord will walk with us through life, no matter what we’re facing. We’ll never be alone.