I heard a song this summer by Ellie Holcomb called “Red Sea Road.” Let me share the lyrics with you.

(Verse 1)                                                                   

We buried dreams

Laid them deep into the earth behind us                             

Said, our goodbyes, at the grave

But everything reminds us

God knows, we ache

When He asks us to go on

How do we go on?

(Chorus)

We will sing to our souls

We won’t bury our hope

Where He leads us to go

There’s a red sea road

When we can’t see the way

He will part the waves

And we’ll never walk alone

Down a red sea road

(Verse 2)

How, can we trust 

When You say You will deliver us from

All, of this pain, that threatens to take over us

Well, this desert’s dry 

But the ocean may consume 

And we’re scared, to follow You

(Bridge)

Oh help us believe

You are faithful, You’re faithful

When our hearts are breaking

You are faithful, You’re faithful

Oh grant us eyes to see

You are faithful, You’re faithful

Teach us to sing

Many of us, right now, are traveling down our own Red Sea roads.  We are desperately searching for a way out. You might not see how you are going to survive and feel completely consumed by fear and anxiety. I am here to tell you that there might not be a way out, but there is a way through.

“The way through happens wherever we stop focusing on how to get out of something and focus on what we can get out of this to become Christlike. Freedom isn’t about looking for a way out, but the way deeper down, the way to grow into more, to be pressed into the narrow pathway through.” Voskamp

I find it hard to admit this, but asking for a way through and not a way out is extremely hard for me. I want to avoid as much pain as possible. I think most of us feel that way. Most of our crying out to God involves asking to be taken out of a bad situation. But… I am learning that I grow and learn so much more when I ask Him to hold my hand, walk down the road with me, and teach me what I need to learn. 

I know I’ve wanted out of so many things because I was abused as a child. Of course, I didn’t want a way through. I know there are some of you that are reading this post that feel the same way. I have begged God to take me out of this world; take away the pain; take that person away that keeps hurting me. I have asked many times, “How can I escape the torment that this situation brings me?”

“Facing waves, and finding a pathway through, has been part of the human experience from our very first breath. There is a wall of water in front of you not because you did something wrong or because you took a wrong turn; there has been a wall of water in front of us right from the beginning because this is the human experience. There is no controlling life’s storms, there is only learning to live with the waves. The real work of being human is mastering how to process losses while being in the process of moving forward.” Voskamp

The trauma from my abuse are the walls of water that I have been facing most of my life. I became enslaved to so many bad habits and behaviors because of it. My thinking was wrong; my view of God was tainted and my ability to process my losses was non-existent. I was stuck and not able to move forward for many years.

I was a little girl who had to develop instincts to keep herself safe from harm. I watched and observed constantly to learn how to operate efficiently in my home. I did everything I could to keep the peace. I became a slave to pleasing and performing to keep myself safe. I did whatever I could to protect myself and my brothers. I did whatever I could do to control my environment. I became what I needed to be. I had dreams. I had plans. But, I couldn’t pursue them because it wasn’t safe to do that. I wasn’t safe to be myself. 

I see that little girl standing on the Red Sea road. She is turning toward Jesus and walking with Him. She loves holding His hand and talking to Him. She loves listening to what He has to say. He is her friend. He loves her unconditionally. He loves to hear what she has to say. She can trust Him with her feelings. There is joy in knowing He is there. He is making a way through for her.   

That little girl decided to give up what she knew to follow God just like the Israelites did. She wanted a better way to live. She wanted a new life. She decided she didn’t want to stay enslaved to her sin. She wanted to be set free and started walking down the Red Sea Road with Him. Even though there were walls of water surrounding her, she decided to look forward, hold on to Jesus, and ask Him to make a way through for her.

The Red Sea road can be a way of deliverance for us. God delivered His people from slavery and He can deliver us too… if we let Him. We have to be willing to turn away from the things that enslave us and ask Him to help us move forward. We have to cling to Him and trust Him.   

I know it is scary to leave what is comfortable behind. We might think we can’t live without whatever is enslaving us. Believe me I know. It was very scary for me. But I have to tell you that it feels so much better to be set free than it does to be enslaved. I have given up a lot of things and frankly I don’t regret giving them up. Some days are easier than others, but I want to be on that road walking with my Savior. I want to walk with Him and watch Him work in my life and in the lives of others. 

I haven’t written much this summer while I have been walking down my road. There have been some pretty big roadblocks that needed my attention and prayer. I have been digging deep to get around them and asking the Lord to make a way through for me. My circumstances haven’t changed, but I am changing and growing and learning. I am learning that the only way I am going to make it through the detours and roadblocks is to keep my eyes fixed on the One who is leading the way. 

I am actually praying more than I ever have for a way through instead of a way out. You have to get your hands on Ann Voskamp’s book called “Waymaker“. Her book is opening my eyes and teaching me how to live with the waves of life. I can’t control them… but I can move forward in them.

I am going to be sharing what I have learned this summer in the next blog posts that I write. So, stay tuned for them. I share because I care. Whatever you suffer from, there is hope. We have a “Way Maker” who is making a way for us. If we allow ourselves to hold on to Him and trust His way, He will bring good out of it.  He is always good because He can’t be any other way.

Until next time dear friends. I”ll be walking down my road with Jesus and my friends by my side!