Most of us know what it is like to feel trapped.  Some are trapped in a job they don’t like.  Some are trapped by financial problems.  Others feel trapped in an abusive relationship.  While yet others are trapped by some besetting sin that keeps them in bondage.

In times like that it seems like there is an insurmountable wall in front of you.  Beyond the wall awaits the promise of a new life.  But you’re not moving because there is this “wall.” You feel trapped.  No way out. This is just the sort of situation in which God want us to trust Him from a way through.

Think about the Israelites on their way out of years of bondage in Egypt. Behind them was a life of back-breaking work and slavery.  Ahead of them was a life in the land of Promise.  Behind them was the fierce army of a fanatical Pharaoh coming towards them.  Ahead of them was a wall. Their obstruction was made of water – the Red Sea.

Your “wall” may be a fear of failure.  Or maybe it’s a lack of confidence that has grinded your progress to halt.  Or it could merely be too many problems that have piled up in front of you at the same time.  And you have no clue which one to tackle first.

So you find yourself stopped, stuck.  And you aren’t sure if there is a way over, around, or under this imposing impediment.

At this point many people panic.  Anxiety takes over and you can’t even seem to take a step forward.  While once you could see ahead, now your focus is on the problem, the obstacle, the barrier.

In times like that it is easy to blame. The Israelites began to blame Moses.  Have you done the same? Blame the boss.  Blame a co-worker.  Blame your dog.  Blame God.  Maybe even blame yourself? We can play the blame game all we want but the wall remains.

Moses looked elsewhere.  He could have looked at the enemy’s army.  He could have looked at the ungrateful people he led.  He could have looked at the wall of water spread out before him, sat down, and given up.

Instead he looked to God.  And God opened an unlikely route through the wall of water.  Safely on the other side, the very wall that had halted their steps closed in on and covered the sources of their fears.

The very name of the book where we find this story serves as a reminder when we face our “walls.” “Exodus” is a compound Greek word meaning “the way out.”  And in case you might have missed it, the way out was not a better job, a different spouse, or a victim mentality.

No, the way out is God. Next time you find yourself up feeling trapped try looking to him.

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:17-18