The Story Chapter 4 / When You Are Walled In, Look for the Way Out

There’s a wall in front of you.  Behind you is a past you are running from.  Beyond the wall awaits the promise of a new life.  But you’re not moving because there is this “wall.”  You feel trapped.  No way out.  This is just the sort of situation in which God does some of his finest work. 

You need only ask the Israelites.  Behind them was a life of back-breaking work and slavery.  Ahead of them was a life in the land of Promise.  Behind them was the fierce army of a fanatical Pharaoh coming towards them.  Ahead of them was a wall.  Their obstruction was made of water.

Your “wall” may be a fear of failure.  Or maybe it’s a lack of confidence that has grinded your progress to a halt.  Or it could merely be too many problems that have piled up in front of you at the same time.

And you have no clue which one to tackle first. 

So you stopped. 

And you aren't sure if there is a way over, around, or under this imposing impediment. 

At this point many people panic.  Anxiety courses its way through the body, atrophies the movement muscles, and rigor mortise overtakes their resolve.  Eyes which once had clear focus now only focus on the wall just inches away.  But some look elsewhere.  The Israelites looked to Moses.  They began belting him with blame.  Have you done the same?    Blame the boss.  Blame a co-worker.  Blame your dog.  Blame God.  Maybe even blame yourself?   Blame all you want but the wall remains.  While the Israelites were body punching Moses, he opted to look elsewhere.  His options?  He could have looked at the enemy’s army.  He could have looked at the ungrateful people he led.  He could have looked at the wall of water spread out before him, sat down, and given up. 

Instead he looked to God.  And God opened an unlikely route through the wall of water.  Safely on the other side, the very wall that had halted their steps closed in on and covered the sources of their fears. 

The very name of the book where we find this story serves as a reminder when we face our “walls.”  “Exodus” is a compound Greek word meaning “the way out.”  And in case you might have missed it, the way out was not a better job, a different spouse, or a victim mentality.  No, the way out is God.  Next time you find yourself up against a wall try looking to Him.