Because He does these things…and I know it <3

I hope this is an encouragement to any weary warriors out there that our God is very much present and very much about encouraging His people. 

This story begins on Saturday evening as Russ and I began working on a puzzle our son-in-law bought for us. We set it up in the dining room and turned on a National Geographic program in the adjoining family room. 

As we worked, we listened to a young journalist who was on the search for evidence of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. He was hoping to discover the proof of their existence and to verify in his mind this story of a people and the miraculous work of their God. 

It was interesting to hear that the world can know there is proof of their existence and exit from Egypt, but things took a turn when he began trying to solve the “mystery” of the Red Sea parting. 

At one point he literally said, we can be thankful to technology that allows us to really explain that this parting of the water was actually just a natural occurrence that happens on this particular body of water and that it was not, after all, a miracle. 

Thanks be to the god of infrared photography (yes, I am being sarcastic…sorry) – he could determine that the “Reed Sea” would have followed the same path as the Exodus in that time period, even though now it is shifted to a new place. The water has been seen to pile up but in location noted in Bible it is no longer a deep place…however it would have been back in that time.

The phenomenon of the winds causing the sea to back up and then rush in again is something that has been seen since that time and so it is just a natural thing, he surmised.

Also he (in my opinion, rather condescendingly) explained that …bless their hearts, the Israelites would have wanted to attribute this to their God since they had been fleeing and all from the Egyptians and were understandably stressed and emotional. 

I was slightly irritated that the parting of the Red Sea, which is something used throughout Scripture as a reminder to the Jews that God would take care of them and was their deliverer, had been logically reduced to a naive little legend that could now be explained away by science and technology. 

But I was mostly sad for this guy and for all the people who might be convinced that God doesn’t work miracles for His people. They just luck into coincidences of nature that work to their advantage. I feel sick typing those words. 

So since Saturday, I have been mulling over this post and last evening I went for a walk while Russ mowed the lawn. 

I prayed about what to write as I walked and then as I was coming down the last stretch of road, the sun was setting and I could see a magnificent cloud in the distance.

It reminded me of the verse that says the clouds are the dust of His feet and so I stopped to take a picture as you see at top of this story.

As I rounded the corner, I saw another cloud off to the side that looked just like a lion’s head with its mouth open so I stopped to snap that picture and then caught my breath. Because now I could see on the first cloud what looked like the figure of a man almost as if climbing a mountain. 

If you zoom in on it, it appears he has a face … and a beard. 

I was overwhelmed and to me it spoke as if God had made the picture for me and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I sent the picture to our family and also posted on social media. 

John said he saw a man surfing and a porpoise. Rachel said she saw an alligator and Sarah said she saw the alligator that also could look like a porpoise. 

Well…with their help, I realized that the “mountain” definitely resembled a large wave of water and also noticed the “alligator”.

If you ever had me for a teacher, you know I immediately googled “alligator god of Egypt”….and I was not disappointed. 

He has a name…and a face…and is a crocodile…not an alligator.

He was Sobek, the crocodile god of the Nile who protected the Egyptian Army and controlled the waters. 

Not even kidding. 

You will notice in the cloud, he is underneath the feet of the man and it would appear the breath of the lion is moving the waters. 

And yes, that is my interpretation…I get it. 

And yes, scientifically, clouds form all kinds of shapes all the time. 

But I do not for one minute believe it was just an act of nature that placed this picture in front of me as I finished my prayer for how to say that I believe the Lord parted the waters for His people to pass. 

No. I am quite certain God heard my prayer and pretty much made a flannel graph out of clouds to show me that He did, indeed part the Red Sea so His people could pass. 

Nor am I believing for one second it was a coincidence that the last Psalm in today’s reading from a calendar set by our church many months ago was from Psalm 135 and includes this verse:

For I know that the LORD is great; our LORD is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths. He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. 

Psalm 135: 6-7

and yes…it goes on to retell the story of the Exodus for good measure. 

So I tell you now, your beliefs and your faith are not foolish. They are not the emotional tales of a motley crew. They are the true accounts of the faithfulness of our God through the ages.

My signature verse on my emails is this one: 

For the Word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

So you are not foolish, even if the whole world says you are.

Knowing this, be of the mind of Christ and pray for those who are perishing.

Pray hard for them today.

Stand firm in your belief that He is who He says He is…and from your position of humility that He has saved YOU…pray for those who have been blinded. 

Blessings dear friends! 

Keep your eyes open…He is making Himself known to us <3