#JESUS2020 - Daily DevotionalsSample

As a kid, I grew up in a small village on the coast of the North Sea. Sailing the sea was, and still is, my greatest joy. I enjoy the salty water, the sun, the freedom of the sea, and the great beaches. Sometimes I think about what lies behind the beautiful horizon while drinking a cold beverage with salt from the sea in my hair and on my skin.

I can hardly imagine how God's people must have felt standing on the beach after they left Egypt. This salty Red Sea was far from fun for them! Nothing but a big and mighty problem in front of them, and behind them 400 years of slavery and the furious army of Egypt’s Pharaoh. Now all they could do was trust that God would deliver them into the freedom that was waiting behind the horizon, and all it took was faith! Faith that Moses’ simple wooden staff would split the sea and turn their fears into tears of freedom!

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, He wept because He saw a sea of problems and pain coming His way! Problems with the local rulers, the pain of the cross and bearing the sin of the world. The only thing Jesus could do was trust His Father. That a simple wooden cross would wipe away the sins of the world. That His fears and His pain on the cross would turn into tears of joy after His resurrection. Tears of joy for all who would experience total forgiveness through that cross.

Sometimes in life, we also have a sea of problems in front of us and pain from the past behind us. We feel totally stuck in those moments, but God can always provide a way out into freedom!

ACTION STEP:

Next time you face a sea of problems in front of you, think of the Israelites and Jesus who both had to trust God for a solution. Ask God for a solution to your problem now. Do what He says and believe that behind the horizon are tears of joy for all who dare to trust God.

Arie Spaanderman, ICF Leiden