Faith in the In-Between: Standing Firm and Walking Forward

Devotional

Day 1: Bulldozers and Fresh Earth – When Beginnings Smell Like Possibility

New projects thrill us with their untouched potential. Like freshly turned soil where foundations will rise, we imagine kitchens where dirt piles stand and trace imaginary walls with hopeful fingers. But beginnings require holding both present chaos and future vision – believing empty spaces will become rooms filled with life long before the drywall goes up. What looks like disruption now carries the scent of holy becoming. [32:22]

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward." (Exodus 14:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your current "construction zone" feel chaotic? How might this disruption contain the raw materials of God’s future for you?

Day 2: Six Months of Unchanged Mornings – When the Middle Drains Your Hope

Progress stalls. Contractors delay. The baby cries while dogs bark outside, and the blueprint you once cherished now mocks you with its unmet promises. The middle tests our capacity to trust when momentum dies. Like Israel trapped between sea and chariots, we forget deliverance’s taste while chewing on dust. Yet God works in waiting’s classroom, teaching us to distinguish between His silence and His absence. [33:17]

"They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?’... But Moses said, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.’” (Exodus 14:11,13 ESV)

Reflection: What “middle” situation makes you question if God notices the delay? How might this waiting cultivate deeper trust?

Day 3: Fear’s Rearview Mirror – When Egypt Feels Safer Than Freedom

Fear rewrites history, turning past bondage into nostalgia. It lies about Pharaoh’s kindness and erases the whip’s memory. Like panicked Israelites begging to return to slavery, we’ll trade calloused certainty for wild trust when the sea blocks our path. But faith walks forward into wet walls, refusing to let terror dictate the route. God’s road often looks impossible until we take the first step into the impossible. [42:17]

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105 ESV)

Reflection: What familiar “Egypt” does fear tempt you to return to? Where is God inviting you to walk toward freedom despite wet shoes?

Day 4: The Pillar That Moved Behind – When God Guards Your Back

We want God out front, clearing paths. But sometimes He positions Himself between us and pursuing armies, becoming our rear guard. The cloud that once led now protects, proving His presence adapts to our need. Like terrified disciples discovering Jesus sleeps through storms but never leaves the boat, we learn God multitasks – both resting and ruling waves. [47:09]

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat... But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:37-38 ESV)

Reflection: What “storm” makes you question if God notices your struggle? How might His quiet presence be actively working behind your line of sight?

Day 5: Dry Ground Where Waves Stood – Walking Walls Before Knowing Wilderness

Faith steps into parted seas without knowing about tomorrow’s thirst. It builds houses while living in borrowed rooms, trusting future laughter will hallow unfinished halls. The Red Road asks only for today’s obedience – not seven years of plans. Like teenage bus drivers learning routes one stop at a time, we move when the cloud moves, satisfied that the Next Step Teller walks beside us. [52:13]

"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." (2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV)

Reflection: What “next faithful step” can you take today without needing the entire map? How does focusing on God’s nearness loosen anxiety about distant horizons?

Sermon Summary

Exodus 14 finds Israel in the in between. Israel has left Egypt behind, but Canaan is nowhere in sight. A sea stands in front of them, Pharaoh’s chariots are closing in behind them, and the people cannot see a way through. The in between can feel just like that, between a diagnosis and an answer, between a loss and learning how to live again, between a prayer and whatever comes next.

Fear makes Egypt look better than freedom when freedom has not yet arrived. The Israelites, who once cried out under slavery, start saying it would have been better to serve the Egyptians. Fear looks backward and says, “At least we know that road.” Fear looks ahead and says there is no way through. Fear looks at the present and says, “Just do something, anything.” Moses therefore tells Israel, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm.” Fear is a terrible navigator.

Scripture gives a lamp instead of a map. The lamp does not show the whole road, the turns, the timeline, or the ending. The lamp gives enough light for the next faithful step. Faith in the in between does not mean pretending to have the answers or pretending not to be afraid. Faith means refusing to let fear become the loudest voice in the room, saying honestly, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

The pillar of cloud shows that God is not standing still while Israel waits. God’s presence had gone before them, leading them forward, but now the cloud moves behind them and stands between Israel and Egypt. God gives presence before God gives a road. Jesus gives the same promise on the stormy sea: before the storm is calmed, Jesus is still in the boat. God has seen, heard, and knows, even when the journey gets harder and the wind blows all night.

Moses’ command holds both sides of faith together: stand firm, then go forward. Standing firm is not a permanent address. God calls Israel to wait until the waters part, and then God calls them to walk into the place that had looked impossible only hours before. Faith does not borrow tomorrow’s perspective while living in the middle. Faith trusts that the God who is present when there is no road will still be present when the way opens and it is time to take the next faithful step through Christ.

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Key Takeaways

1. Fear is a terrible navigator Fear can make familiar bondage seem safer than an uncertain freedom. The Israelites did not suddenly love Egypt; they simply could not see a way through the sea. Faith does not deny fear’s voice, but it refuses to hand fear the wheel. [42:03]
2. God gives a lamp, not map A map promises control over the whole journey, but a lamp calls for trust in the next step. God does not always reveal the timeline, the outcome, or the reason for every delay. The light of God’s presence is often enough for today, even when tomorrow remains dark. [42:36]
3. God gives presence before answers The cloud moved behind Israel before the sea opened in front of them. Jesus remained in the boat before he calmed the storm. God’s first answer in the in between is often not an explanation, but the promise that he has not left. [47:09]
4. Stand firm, then go forward Standing still can be faithful when fear is trying to force a decision. Going forward becomes faithful when God opens a way that was not visible before. Neither waiting nor moving is the point by itself; attentiveness to God is the point.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:53] - A House Built in the In Between
[34:19] - Israel Between Egypt and Canaan
[36:40] - A Long Night at the Sea
[37:11] - Exodus 14: Pharaoh Pursues Israel
[41:23] - Fear Makes Egypt Look Better
[42:36] - God Gives a Lamp, Not a Map
[45:28] - Eyes on God Without Answers
[46:41] - The Cloud Moves Behind Israel
[48:05] - Jesus Is Still in the Boat
[50:49] - Stand Firm, Then Go Forward
[52:13] - Taking the Next Faithful Step
[53:27] - Faith Cannot Borrow Tomorrow’s View
[54:21] - Enough Light for Another Step

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 14:5–31
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. [37:11]

Mark 4:35–41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” [48:05]

2 Chronicles 20:12
“O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” [45:28]

Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” [42:36]

Observation questions

What do the Israelites say about Egypt when they see Pharaoh’s army coming, and what does that reveal about how afraid they are? [41:25]
In Exodus 14, what two instructions does God give Israel through Moses: first while the sea is still closed, and then when the way through opens?
What changes about the pillar of cloud in Exodus 14:19–20, and what does the cloud do for Israel during the night? [46:43]
In Mark 4, what question do the disciples ask Jesus before he calms the storm, and what seems to concern them most? [48:05]

Interpretation questions

Israel had cried out to God because of slavery, yet fear made Egypt seem preferable when the future looked dangerous. Why can familiar hardship feel safer than an uncertain freedom? [42:03]
Moses says, “Stand firm,” while God also says, “Go forward.” How can both waiting and moving be faithful responses, depending on what God is doing?
Psalm 119 calls God’s word a lamp rather than a map. What does that picture suggest about the kind of guidance God often gives people in uncertain seasons? [42:36]
The cloud moved behind Israel before the sea opened, and Jesus was in the boat before the storm was calmed. How do these passages speak to someone who wonders whether God notices their fear? [49:01]

Application questions

Is there an “in between” place in your life right now—between a loss and healing, a prayer and an answer, a decision and clarity? What makes that place especially hard to live in?
Fear looks backward and says, “At least we know that road.” Is there a familiar pattern, relationship, habit, or way of coping that feels tempting to return to simply because it is known? What would it look like not to let fear choose your direction? [42:03]
Where are you asking God for a complete map—every answer, every timeline, and every outcome—when the next faithful step may be all that is being given? What might that next step be? [44:43]
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” is an honest prayer. What is one situation where you can pray those words plainly this week, without pretending you have everything figured out? [45:28]
Israel had to wait through a long night while God’s presence stood between them and Egypt. How could you make space this week to remember that God is present even when nothing seems to be changing? [49:50]
Is this a season to stand firm rather than make a fear-driven decision, or has a way forward opened that requires a step of trust? What would standing or walking look like in a practical way this week? [51:12]
You do not have to borrow tomorrow’s perspective while living in the middle of today. What pressure might be lifted if you trusted God for enough light and strength for today rather than demanding certainty about the whole future? [54:06]

Sermon Clips

37s

#PresenceInTheInBetween

“And maybe that's the heart of faith in the in between. We want certainty. God gives us presence. We want the whole road. Sometimes God gives us enough grace just for this moment. We wanna know how the story ends. Sometimes all we know is that God is here. Before there was a road through the sea, God was there. Before there was calm on the lake, Jesus was in the boat. Before you know how your story turns out, God is with you in the in between.”

45s

#LampNotMap

“That's where we have to be careful because I don't wanna tell you that every in between place becomes the the house that you hope for. Sometimes the future looks very different from the one we imagine. Sometimes we never get the answers we wanted. Faith isn't pretending we already have the view from the other side. Faith is trusting God when we don't. We want the map. God gives us a lamp. We wanna know how the story ends. God gives us presence. When the way forward does open, God gives us enough strength, just enough light to take another step.”

37s

#JustOneFaithfulStep

“There will come a moment when God tells them to move forward, but they aren't there yet. And neither are we sometimes. Maybe you don't need a five year plan today. Maybe you don't need to know how the whole story turns out. Maybe you don't even need to know what happens tomorrow. Maybe all you need is just enough light for the next faithful step. And if you can't see that step yet, stand firm, wait, keep your eyes on God. Because while the Israelites are standing still, God isn't.”

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