Middle Ground Miracles

“Middle Ground Miracles”
by Pastor Alli Munsey
August 30, 2020

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this...

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

• Exodus 14:1-4; 10-14 (NIV)

The Israelites could see their future ahead of them, but they were surrounded by mountains. They were no longer slaves but had not yet reached the promised land either. God displays some of his greatest power in the middle. God is about to do a miracle in our lives. All we have to do is to be still, be quiet, be at peace, and know that the Lord is going before us. While the Israelites were moving around in confusion, God had a plan. The Israelites didn’t know the plan, so they were tempted to go back to Egypt, to their familiar pain because they were afraid. 

God will never get us into something that he’s not going to get us out of. When fear takes over our minds or our spirits, it tells us that the past is better than the transition we’re in now. When we can’t see our path, it’s tempting to go back to what we know, but the future is in front of us. The only way to move is to move forward. By the blood of Jesus, we will make it through. Jesus paid the price 2000 years ago for our freedom and our healing. We have to declare it. We have to take hold of it. 

The worst part about standing in line is when we’re in the middle because in the middle, we can’t see the front and we can’t go backward. We have nowhere to go, and we have to just wait. The middle is where most people quit. The middle of seeing God’s promise come true is where we often lose heart. It’s where the enemy tempts us to come back to where it’s familiar. Our addiction, our bad relationship, bad habits will call us back when we’re in the middle because we’re in unfamiliar territory. But God’s greatest miracles always happen in the middle. 

God had to get Egypt out of the Israelites before they could move forward. He was establishing trust. They didn’t know what it was like to depend on God, but God was establishing a new pattern for their life. God has a plan for our life but he can’t take us there with our old way of thinking. He has to establish some new habits, some new patterns before he can take us into the promise. 

1. Be Still.

The first thing we should do when we’re stuck in the middle is to be still. When we’re scared, we don’t make the best choices. We have to rule our spirit and tell it to be still. Often, we want God to intercede in an area of our life that we’ve already made up our mind about. God wants to give us his plan, so we have to still our spirit and know that he is working it out. God is parting the Red Sea, but often we miss the miracle because we faint before the promise. We must be still and trust God in the middle. 

2. Hold Your Peace.

God told Moses to hold his peace. Often the hardest thing to do is to not fight back or defend ourselves. We need to be at peace. The Lord is fighting for us. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom. We’re in a spiritual battle, so we need a spiritual solution. It’s only God who can deliver us. We need to be at peace and trust him to do it. 

3. Move Your Feet.

Often, we want God to move before we move. In Exodus 14:16, God told Moses to lift his hands and his staff, and when he did, God parted the Red Sea. Moses must have been terrified as they crossed over--that God might let the water close in on them. Some of us are in the middle of the miracle where we have taken that step of faith. We are scared because we don’t know if God is going to come through on what he said. If we’re scared, we need to take that step anyway. God’s not going to leave or abandon us in the process. 

We need to be still, be at peace, and move forward. God will provide what we need. He is a deliverer. God is doing miracles even in this pandemic, even in 2020, and he will provide.  

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. What has God already provided for you or delivered you from?

2. What are you tempted to run back and cling to because you are exhausted and afraid?

3. How has God helped you to keep moving and not give up?

4. What hopes and dreams are you talking to God about in prayer? Can you fully trust him with your life?