Exo 14:9-12 (NIV) The Egyptians--all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

God works miracles when you commit your life to Him. But, He doesn’t work those miracles so you can go back to your old way of life. You are on a journey like the Children of Israel. There are a lot of things for you to learn, to experience, to resist, and to become. It can seem like you just finished one life challenge and another one comes. Why? As a child of God, you are in training on how to live in the spirit realm for eternity. God has incredible things planned for you in His eternal Kingdom. You need training so you can take advantage of it.

It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert: Commitment and resistance will keep you from having this attitude. The more God does for you, the more you will take advantage of all your experiences. Your appreciation and rememberance of the incredible miracles in your past will strengthen your commitment and empower your resistance. You will see how God uses them to bring you incredible miracle after miracle.

Exo 14:13-14 (NIV) Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Moses has been able to recognize the miracles of God and allow them to build his commitment. The more miracles he saw, the more he was able to resist any doubts, fears, or discourgements. The Children of Israel saw what Moses saw but they didn’t get committed.

Exo 14:15-17 (NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Children of Israel would have probably surrendered. That would have killed the victory God had planned.

Exo 14:21-22 (NIV) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. God is the Creator of the universe; He doesn’t struggle with ten plagues and opening Red Seas. But, if the Children of Israel got their way, they would have surrendered and gone back to being slaves in Egypt. If it hadn’t been for the commitment and resistance of Moses, this Red Sea miracles would have never happened.

Exo 14:23-25 (NIV) The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Your commitment to God and resistance to evil doesn’t just help you. Pharoah and his armies were enslaving the Children of Israel. The Egyptian people didn’t have the power to enslave them. It took special armed forces to keep them in slavery. Moses was getting to see incredible miracles; but, they weren’t just entertainment for Moses. God was setting people free from hurts, bondage, and mistreatment. The Egyptian people couldn’t enslave them; but, they could take advantage of these slaves. God wants to use you to set slaves to sin free from the evil people around them.

Exo 14:26-28 (NIV) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

Eph 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Even though you aren’t resisting Egyptians, you are fighting against an enemy of yours and of multitudes of people. Jesus needs you to be a committed person so He can work miracles through you. The slavery of sin is worse than the slavery the Children of Israel suffered. Your opportunities are greater than Moses’ were.

Exo 14:30-31 (NIV) That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. Seeing a miracle and getting impressed with it isn’t the same as commitment and resistance. These people were impressed that day; but, they weren’t committed. They didn’t resist the next “opportunity” to doubt, accuse God, and fight God’s leader.

Exo 15:22-24 (NIV) Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Committed people don’t grumble, doubt, complain, and act like God has never done anything for them. They remember all the miracles, all the blessings, and all the benefits God has given them in the past.

Exo 16:2-4 (NIV) In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Commitment and resistance help you see the great things of God. And, they help you remember those great things when life gets challenging. The miracles of God aren’t just for that day when they happen. They are also for your future when you need your commitment strengthened and you need to resist the temptation to forget the faithfulness of God. Griping and complaining only show how much unthankfulness and a lack of appreciation we have when we forget all the wonderful things God has ALREADY done.