The Night Before the Red Sea Parted: Trusting God When Stuck

Inside: Exodus 14 Lessons: Crossing The Red Sea

What do you do when God leads you somewhere… and then it feels like He leaves you there?

You stepped out in faith. You followed His leading. But now? Nothing is happening. No change. No breakthrough. Just silence.

Maybe you’re waiting on a job, healing, reconciliation, or an answer to a prayer that feels like it’s been lost in the heavens. And maybe, just maybe, you’re wondering if God sees you at all.

If that’s where you are, then you’re standing exactly where the Israelites stood on the night before the Red Sea parted.

Let’s step into their story.

Exodus 14 Lessons: Crossing The Red Sea Bible Study Cheat Sheet

Bible Passage: Exodus 14:10-14, 21-22

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

The Fear That Comes in the Dark

The Israelites were free, yet fear still gripped them. Why?

Because even though they had walked out of Egypt, Egypt hadn’t walked out of them.

Their minds were still enslaved to the belief that Pharaoh had more power than God. The moment they saw the enemy behind them and the sea in front of them, panic took over.

They thought: This is it. We’re trapped. We’re done.

And we do the same thing.

We assume that just because we can’t see a way out, there isn’t one. We look at the obstacles in front of us and forget the God who led us there in the first place.

Reflection Question:

• What is a situation in your life where fear has spoken louder than faith?
• How does remembering God’s past faithfulness help you trust Him now?

The Call to “Be Still” When You Want to Run

Moses didn’t give them an escape plan. He didn’t tell them to fight or negotiate with Pharaoh. Instead, he said:

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

Being still isn’t the same as doing nothing. It’s trusting that God is doing something.

Sometimes, God leads us to places where we have no option but to rely on Him. Not so we feel abandoned, but so we finally understand what it means to rest in His strength instead of our own.

Reflection Question:

• What does it look like to “be still” in your current season?
• How can you shift from trying to force a solution to trusting God’s timing?

The Miracle Happened While They Slept

This is the part we don’t talk about enough:

The Red Sea didn’t part in an instant.

Verse 21 tells us:
“All that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.”

The miracle was in motion while they were waiting. While they stood in fear, wondering if God had abandoned them, He was working.

What if the same is true for you?

What if the silence doesn’t mean God isn’t moving? What if the very thing you’ve been praying for is already in progress behind the scenes?

Reflection Question:

• How does knowing that God works even when we can’t see Him change your perspective?
• Have you ever realized after the fact that God was working all along?

The Step of Faith That Came Before the Breakthrough

The Red Sea didn’t just part—the Israelites had to step into the impossible.

They had to walk between two massive walls of water, trusting that they wouldn’t collapse. They had to move forward before they had full understanding of how God was holding it all together.

Faith is like that. You don’t always get the full picture before you take the next step.

Sometimes God says, Move forward, even while the water is still standing tall on both sides.

Reflection Question:

• What is one step of faith God is asking you to take right now?
• How can you take action even when you don’t see the full picture?

The Night Before Your Red Sea Parting

The night before the miracle feels like a dead end.

But it’s not the end of your story.

It’s the moment right before breakthrough.

Just because you don’t see the wind doesn’t mean it isn’t blowing.
Just because you don’t see a way doesn’t mean God isn’t making one.

Hold on, friend.

Morning is coming.

And when it does, you’re going to walk forward on dry ground.

Final Reflection & Prayer

Bible Verses to Meditate On:
1. Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God.”
2. Isaiah 43:16 – “This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters.”
3. 2 Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Prayer For God’s Timing
Lord, I don’t always understand why You lead me to places that feel impossible. But I trust that You are working, even when I can’t see it. Help me to be still and know that You are God. Strengthen my faith to step forward, even when the way isn’t clear. I believe that You are making a way for me, just like You did at the Red Sea. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Exodus 14 Lessons: Crossing The Red Sea

God is working, even when you can’t see it. Like the Israelites at the Red Sea, you may feel stuck, but your breakthrough is already in motion. Be still, trust His timing, and take the next step in faith, because God always makes a way.

Next Steps:

• Journal: Write about a time when you felt stuck but later saw how God was working.
• Pray: Ask God for the faith to keep trusting Him even when you can’t see the way.
• Take Action: What is one small step forward you can take this week in faith?

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