Exodus 14:16
“As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”

Perhaps you have been there – or you are there now. God is calling you to do something, but it doesn’t make any sense. In fact, it seems completely illogical and to go against any form of reasoning. You find yourself second guessing if this is really what God is asking you to do.

A few weeks ago before tucking my boys in for the night, I read them the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. As my boys leaned forward, eyes wide, listening to every word, I recounted how the Israelites were trapped – with the massive sea in front of them and 600 Egyptian chariots closing in fast, the terrified Israelites cried out to God. With the situation seeming utterly hopeless, God told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.”

What?! Okay, hold on here. Stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it? Even as I read the account to my boys, I couldn’t help but think how crazy that directive seemed. If I were Moses I’m pretty sure I would have second-guessed God’s instructions. With a seething army about to decimate me and my countrymen, stretching my hand out over the sea would have been about the last thing I would have wanted to try.

But isn’t it interesting that telling His followers to do the illogical – the unlikely – seems to be God’s modus operandi. God Instructed Noah to build an ark – in a desert. He charged Gideon to take on the Midianite army – with only 300 men. He guided the disciples to share the gospel message – even with the Gentiles. All of these directives and countless others throughout the Bible must have seemed completely illogical at the time.

However, as you consider each of these stories, what is the common theme? When God called for the illogical, each of these heroes of the faith followed God’s guidance. They didn’t back down. They didn’t decide to pursue their own sound, logical plan, they walked by faith and did as God called them to do…and we are still talking about them hundreds of years later.

From each of these Biblical examples we can understand the important truth that when we step out, God shows up. God does not always call us to pursue logical plans guided by sound human reasoning. Rather, God calls us to follow Him – always.

In what way is God guiding you today that seems completely illogical? While God’s directives to you today may not make any sense, will you still follow?

Think of Moses, staff held high, and choose to follow. Who knows what might be on the other side of your Red Sea…