A Journey of Victory

[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections, A Journey of Victory. Exodus 15, 19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them.

[0:15] But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. Psalms 84, 11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory.

[0:27] No good thing will he withhold from them. That walk uprightly. Galatians 6, 9. And let us not be weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

[0:41] God is not a stingy God. Nor is he one who seeks to trick his people by making promises he has no intention of keeping. He does not hold something out to us, only to then pull it back at the last second.

[0:55] God's desire is that we experience all of what he has for us. There is not one good thing that God holds back from those who follow him. In Exodus 15, Moses and Israel are standing on the far side of the Red Sea, looking back over the impossible path by which they have just traversed.

[1:15] They have just witnessed the defeat of their enemies and have experienced the most remarkable of deliverances. Truly, if there was ever a moment to sit down and take a break, this was it.

[1:28] However, the very next thing on the agenda is not to stay at this remarkable place of their deliverance and their enemies' defeat, but to continue their journey forward following the presence of God.

[1:42] In that moment, it would have been easy for Israel to think they had arrived, that all of the trials and toil had finally paid off, and they had now arrived at the place of victory.

[1:54] While their deliverance was 100% complete, and their enemy was 100% defeated, What was not 100% was their journey of following God.

[2:07] Their walk had not finished with a deliverance and a defeat, but in fact had just begun. No, God was not dangling a false promise in front of them, or failing to fulfill his word.

[2:20] He had delivered them, and he had defeated their enemy. But that did not mean he was finished with them, and thank God he was not. There was deliverance and victory yet to be experienced.

[2:36] When we come through difficult trials and out into deliverance, it can be tempting to think that we have arrived, that in response to our trust in God and his amazing deliverance, we are now free from an enemy that was so relentlessly pursuing us.

[2:51] And while we may be 100% free and 100% delivered, it does not mean our journey is over. Are there more enemies to face, and more impossibilities in front of us?

[3:06] Yes, there are. But instead of focusing on the difficulties, let's instead focus on the fact that there are also deliverances and victories in front of us as well.

[3:18] Father, thank you for leading us into, through, and out of every difficulty and into victory. Thank you that while the journey may not yet be over, it is a journey of deliverance and victory.

[3:36] Amen. Amen. Here we go.