Paralyzed By Fear

     “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. 13For I, the LORD thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, `Fear not; I will help thee.”        Isaiah 41:10,13   (21st KJV)

       Have you ever felt like your back was against a wall?  Does the taskmaster, satan, have you between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to turn?  Maybe, you have put in a lot of time, on your own, only to find yourself on the wrong avenue of life.  Sometimes, we can be rendered ineffective by our fear.

Read Exodus 13:17-22; 14:5-31        key v.31

I.  v 13:17,18; 14:2  The Problem

*  being saved does not insulate nor isolate you from  problems

*  salvation does not end the sinful problems we will face daily

*  the enemy, like Pharaoh, continues to come after you constantly

*  the Christian life is not lived in straight lines either -  the detours God deals us along the way, are for our spiritual benefit

*  don’t be discouraged if God has you on a detour route- He knows

II. v10-12  The Panic

*  “thanks a lot Moses, now where do we go, huh? ....”

*  the children of Israel questioned Moses’ leadership and wisdom

*  do you ever find yourself questioning God’s sovereign leadership?

III.  v13,14  The Assurance

*  Fear Not-  the angel said to Mary-    Jesus said to His disciples-  the angel said to Mary Magdlene when the detours (fear) came

*  to each one, God was saying, I am in control of your life- stand still

            Psalms 27:14  Wait on the Lord

*  stand still,  stay with God’s plan,  and don’t get ahead of Him

IIII.  v19,20  Our Salvation 

*  God gave them a cloud- not a map, compass, or GPS

*  when we are “up against it,” God does His best work on our behalf

            Psalms 73:23  He holds us by the hand !

*  the cloud became a shield for them

*  Jesus is not only our Savior, He is our protector!

*  v21,22  the waters are divided

*  v23-28  the Egyptians are drowned  (remember what Pharaoh did to the Jewish babies?)  “be not deceived, God is not mocked...

*  maybe your back is against a wall- God has not forgotten about you

*  fear comes when we can not see God through our circumstances