Rules and Red Seas

"When you pray, keep alert and be thankful. Be sure to pray that God will make a way."
Colossians 4:2-3 (CEV)

I read a lot of books. In doing so, I have found that there are some books that for whatever reason I just can't make myself finish. Many other books are worth reading once, but not a second time.  A handful of books are worth a second or even third reading and then there are just a few books that are dear friends. I go back to them time and time again without tiring of their message.

Almost twenty years ago I came across one such book quite by accident. My husband purchased Robert J. Morgan's little gem The Red Sea Rules because it contained an anonymous and untitled poem that the late Apologist Ravi Zacharias frequently quoted. The poem begins:

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all his heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed
Watch His methods, with His ways!

A couple of stanzas later the poem ends with the words "God knows what He's about."

I was surprised that Bruce purchased the book primarily for the poem. He's not usually the poetry type and neither am I, but one night I picked up the little book and began reading. When I finished it two hours later I had found a new friend. Over the next few weeks I worked through the little book again and again. The book's content focuses on historical events recorded in Exodus 13-15, the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Robert J. Morgan describes his writing process saying, "As I worked through the chapters, ten rules unfolded like rubber life rafts; ten ways of handling dilemmas and discouragements - a divine protocol for handling life when we find ourselves caught between the devil and deep Red Sea.
Morgan developed 10 God given strategies for difficult times. Each strategy is called a "rule" and each one progressively builds on the rules which precede it. Morgan's rules are listed below:

Red Sea Rule #1 - Realize that God means for you to be where you are.

Red Sea Rule #2 - Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief.

Red Sea Rule #3 - Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.

Red Sea Rule #4 - Pray!

Red Sea Rule #5 - Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work.

Red Sea Rule #6 - When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith.

Red Sea Rule #7 - Envision God's enveloping presence.

Red Sea Rule #8 - Trust God to deliver in His own unique way.

Red Sea Rule #9 - View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future.

Red Sea Rule #10- Don't forget to praise Him!

All of us can probably use a rubber life raft or two right now during the current corona virus pandemic. Why not look over the RSR list and pick one or two rules that stand out to you and put that rule into practice today? Better yet, why not read Exodus chapters 13-15 and trace Morgan's "rules" through the biblical text. If ever our country, indeed our world, was facing a Red Sea Crisis, it's now as illness confines us to our homes; wrecks our economy; forces churches and business to cease operations; death tolls mount; and fear rises in our hearts.

Whenever I face a tough situation, I almost always return to RSR #1 "God knows where you are and means for you to be there." The Israelites didn't get lost in the desert. God told Moses, "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp by the sea." (Ex 14:1) They were exactly where God led them. That "where" was hemmed in by the mountains, desert, and sea while being chased by the massive Egyptian army. Morgan writes again, "The Red Sea may roll before us; the desert may entrap us; the enemy may press on our heels. The past may seem implausible and the future impossible, but God works in ways we cannot see. He will always make a way for His tired, but trusting children, even if He must split the sea to do it." 

The Apostle Paul certainly understood about being hemmed in. Paul wasn't self-quarantined but confined to a Roman prison when he wrote today's verse. Paul's words echo Morgan's and are good words for such a time as this.
"Pray that God will make a way." Colossians 4:3 (CEB)