Finding Hope in Hard Times

Just after their miraculous rescue and release from Egyptian slavery the Hebrews find their backs up against the Red Sea, with their eyes fixed on the approaching Egyptian army! What are they to do?

Have you ever felt that way, caught in an impossible situation? Perhaps you feel that way right now. Good news! There’s hope in God’s Word! You can respond in faith and face whatever challenges you find in front and behind you—and say, with confidence, “God’s got this!”

Read Exodus 14:12-14 (ESV).

CRY OUT.

When your back is up against a wall, as the Israelites found upon their arrival at the Red Sea, it’s natural to “cry out”!

• Read Psalm 86; Acts 4:23-37.
• Notice how the people cried out to God in their difficult situations.
• Take time to cry out to God in your own prayers.

The first step of faith in affirming that “God’s got this!” is to cry out to God!

FEAR NOT.

The admonition not to fear is found in the Bible more than 80 times! Often we find it’s the first response of an angel when he encounters a person.

No doubt Moses did a quick “cry out” to God when confronted by the Hebrews, for he had a word from the Lord that is encouragement for us today when our backs are against the wall: “Fear not” (Exodus 14:13a).

How could they—and how can we—turn fear to faith? How can we find hope in hard times? One way is to remember where we came from. If only the Hebrews had looked back upon the miraculous way that God freed them from slavery. If only we can focus our attention on God’s miraculous rescue of us when, by the blood of our Passover Lamb Jesus, we were saved!

• Read Deuteronomy 31:8; 1 John 4:18; Romans 8:28. Re-read Exodus 14:12-14.
• What do you learn about fear and God’s love from these passages?

When your back is up against a wall, the second step of faith in affirming that “God’s got this!” is to “fear not”!

Excerpt from the YouVersion Bible reading plan, “God’s Got This” by Dean Ridings for The Navigators.