Who is like You, O Lord?

You might be surprised to know that I've been teaching children's church this semester.   My mom taught Child Evangelism (flannelgraph stories of the Bible) when I was growing up and she even trained me to teach it.   I began to teach at the age of 9.  There was a need in our church right now for someone to lead children's church and God told me to step up.  So I did.  Now you might think flannelgraph is too "old school" for this generation of children who has grown up in the technological age--but these kids are eating it up!   Anyway, I've been teaching on the life of Moses.  And you'd be amazed at how they are soaking it in.

This week, the lesson is on the parting of the Red Sea.  I love this story.  Every aspect of it amazes me--God leading the Israelites (approximately 3 million people--a larger population than Houston, Tx!!) with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, God leading them til they're boxed in by the sea and the Egyptians, God telling Moses to lift his staff and He parts the sea. (Last week, we saw God raising Moses up as a fearless leader through a series of plagues.)  God killing the Egyptians.

It's all about God and His leading and His power.  It's been a great reminder to me of how God works in my own life.  So many times we blame Satan or others for our circumstances.  The Israelites blamed Moses (their leadership) for bringing them into the wilderness to die--saying they'd been better off to stay in Egypt and work as slaves.  But...God was leading the entire time.   Satan didn't box them in---God did!  And it wasn't to destroy them, but to save them.  God wanted to glorify His name and to let the Israelites see proof that their enemy was dead.  God wanted to do a miracle so His people would know how much He loved them.  God wanted to glorify His name.

I think it's a good thing to be reminded of today.  God still leads us--not by a cloud, but by His Spirit.  God still boxes us in with our circumstances.   God still parts the Red Sea to deliver us.  And God still destroys our enemies so we can have proof that they're dead.  He doesn't want us to live our lives as slaves--to sin or things.  God wants us to know how much He loves us and He wants His name glorified.  This might be an exciting story for children to hear, but I think I needed to hear it as much as they do.  

“Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?  Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?"  Exodus 15:11