Despite rejecting belief in God, many people still seek something beyond themselves. Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor calls this time "cross pressured" - as people deny religion, yet still seek a savior. Why? Because deep down, we are wired for eternity.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us: "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart." People may deny God, but they cannot escape their design. They crave power and meaning, seeking something greater than themselves.
Fear and guilt are powerful motivators. People fear death, emptiness, and lack of purpose. And fear fuels fascination with the supernatural.

Exodus 14 provides more than just history - it's a blueprint showing what happens when fear grows loud, but God becomes even louder. The Israelites found themselves trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea, with seemingly no escape.

Fear is one of the most powerful forces in our lives. It shapes our decisions, holds us back, and paralyzes our thinking. Whether it's fear of failure, rejection, uncertainty, or loss - fear always whispers the same lie: "There's no way out."

Maybe you're hearing that voice right now. The voice that says you're always going to be stuck, things will never change, and you've reached the end of the road. That's exactly where the Israelites were in Exodus 14.

But when fear has you cornered, God shows His power over all things.

Fear Blows Things Out of Proportion
In Exodus 14:10, we see the Israelites in a state of panic. This Hebrew word carries great weight - they weren't just concerned, they were losing heart, completely undone. Fear overtook their vision, making the obstacles seem much larger than God, who had just delivered them from Egypt.

They looked at the sea and decided it was too deep. They looked at Pharaoh's army and decided it was too strong. They looked at the night and decided it was too dark.
That's what fear does - it distorts reality and exaggerates things until the enemy or experience becomes larger than life, larger than God.

The Israelites even said, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? It's better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness." How twisted! One moment celebrating freedom, the next wishing to return to slavery.

This is temporary insanity. Fear had completely hijacked their perspective, making chains look safer than trust. When you're afraid, the pain you know can feel more comfortable than the promise you can't see.

Fear Exaggerates Obstacles and Minimizes God
Fear will always exaggerate the obstacle and minimize God. But faith does the opposite - it puts God's greatness back in view. When fear whispers, "This is too big," faith declares, "God is bigger still."

God Shows Up Where You Least Expect It
"So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground with walls of water on each side." (Exodus 14:22)

No one predicted God would turn an ocean into a hallway. They likely imagined boats, hidden passages, or military advantage. But God doesn't always act as we expect. Instead of going around the obstacle, He made the Israelites walk straight through it.
God often appears unexpectedly, creating supernatural paths that require us to trust Him. His plan wasn't to teleport them or supply weapons, but to turn the fear of the sea into a path to freedom.

God doesn't just open doors - He parts seas. He doesn't remove the obstacle in front of you; He provides a way through it. His answer doesn't always turn out as you planned. Sometimes His deliverance feels like stepping into the very thing you're afraid of, trusting that He'll hold it back while you walk.

The miracle usually happens in the middle, not at the start. If God had removed the sea entirely, they wouldn't have needed faith. But by walking between two walls of water, every step was an act of trust.

Faith Moves Forward Even While You're Shaking
The Israelites walked through walls of water with dry ground beneath them, but fear must have still gripped their hearts. What if the water crashed down? What if Pharaoh's army caught up? What if they didn't make it to the other side?

Yet God's miracle didn't fully unfold until they kept moving forward. If they had frozen in the middle, they would have been stuck between the water and war. Their deliverance came not in standing still, but in moving on.

Faith isn't the absence of fear - it's stepping forward while fear is still screaming. Sometimes we wait until fear disappears before obeying God, saying, "Once I feel more confident, then I'll step out." But God doesn't operate that way. If you wait until fear is gone, you'll never move.

Faith doesn't mean you stop being afraid; it means you move anyway. God doesn't promise you won't feel fear. He promises that he will fight with you and for you in the midst of it.
While the Israelites were walking, God was fighting their enemy behind them. He jammed the chariot wheels, confused the army, and slowed down the Egyptians so His people could make it through. They didn't have to turn around and fight - they just had to keep walking.

That's the beauty of faith. You don't have to figure it all out or feel completely at peace. You just have to take the next step, and then the next, because God is working on your behalf.

God Turns Your Greatest Fear Into Yesterday's Story
"When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, 'Raise your hand above the sea again.' Then the waters rushed back and covered all the chariots and charioteers... Not a single one survived." (Exodus 14:26-28)

The army that was terrifying one moment was gone the next. God didn't just deliver His people - He destroyed the very thing hunting them down. What chased them into the sea would never chase them again.

That's the power of God's deliverance. He doesn't just get you through it; He puts an end to the thing gripping your heart.

This foreshadows the gospel message. At the cross, Jesus didn't just rescue us - He defeated sin, death, and the enemy once and for all. Jesus doesn't just forgive your past; He buries it under the power of His victory.

As Paul writes in Colossians 2:15: "In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."

How Does God Transform Our Fear?
The story ends with the Israelites in awe of God. They began the chapter in panic and ended it praising God. What changed? Their fear collided with the supernatural power of God.

When that happens, awe replaces anxiety, trust replaces terror, and worship replaces worry. That's always God's goal for His people - to move us from fear to faith, from panic to praise, and from despair to deliverance.

When fear traps you, God will make a way through. This isn't just Israel's story; it's our story. The same God who parted the Red Sea and destroyed Pharaoh's army still buries the fears that chase us. The same God who turned panic into praise still wants to turn our fear into faith.

When fear appears (and it always will), speak to it with faith: "My God makes a way." Let your fear hear your faith, and let your unknown become known through trust.

This week, identify your "Red Sea" - that seemingly impossible situation where you feel trapped. Instead of focusing on the size of your problem, focus on the size of your God. Take one step forward in faith, even while still feeling afraid.

Ask yourself:

• What fear am I allowing to distort my perspective right now?
• Where might God be creating an unexpected path that requires my trust?
• What would it look like to keep moving forward, even while I'm still afraid?
• How has God turned my past fears into yesterday's story?

Remember, we don't have to live stuck, small, or frightened anymore. We are people who walk through waters together because our God makes a way through.