Walking on Dry Ground
“And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” Exodus 14:22
Recently, during a sermon at church, a guest speaker was talking about how the Israelites were crossing on dry ground with the walls of the Red Sea on either side. Their miracle had already started.
This immediately made me think about my own life.
It was this time of the year five years ago when I was given a stage four cancer diagnosis. The oncologists told me that the aggressive, mutated cancer gene I have carries a life expectancy of 20–36 months. I think that is important to include because five years later, I am still here.
I’ve been walking on dry ground for five years.
Yes, I am still asking the Lord to part the waters completely. I am still praying for the miracle of complete healing. But I cannot look at these five years and say that God has done nothing because the final miracle has not yet come.
I have walked through waters I never believed I could cross. There have been days when the walls seemed impossibly high and the way forward seemed impossible to see. Yet somehow, step by step, God has given me ground on which to stand.
The Red Sea was still there. But so was my Savior. 🙌🏼🤍
And I have learned that sometimes a miracle isn’t only found in the moment when God removes the obstacle. Sometimes the miracle is found in realizing that He has provided a way through it.
Months ago, the Lord convicted me to stop placing my full focus on the desired outcome and instead focus more on what He is teaching me through this journey. And He has taught me SO much.
I’ve learned that faith isn’t simply trusting God for the outcome I want. Faith is trusting God because of who He is EVEN while I’m waiting for the outcome.
I don’t know what the rest of my story will look like. I don’t know when the waters will finally close behind me. But I know Who has been with me in the midst of them. He says, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee” (Isaiah 43:2).
(This is why it is so important to be in God’s Word. When you know what His Word says about who He is, you can trust Him even when you don’t understand what He is doing.)
Maybe you’re facing your own Red Sea today. Maybe you’re facing a diagnosis, a broken relationship, a financial burden, grief, or something else that seems impossible to cross. Maybe you’re wondering how you’re going to make it through.
You may not be able to see the other side yet.
But look down.
If God has given you dry ground for the next step, take the step.
You don’t have to know how He is going to get you all the way across. You don’t have to see the entire path. You just have to trust Him with the ground He has given you today.
Keep walking. Keep praying. Keep trusting.
I am still praying for the waters to close behind me. I am still believing God for complete healing. But today, I can look back and say:
“For five years, He has enabled me to walk on dry ground.”
And if He has brought me this far, I can trust Him with the rest of the journey….with the portion He has given me in this life! 💕
8 Comments
Tyler Greene
Beautiful! It’s so easy to focus on the outcome and miss what’s being taught along the way. This gives me a whole new outlook on the journey.
Leslie
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment, Tyler! That shift of focus is so important. It’s often a daily challenge depending on what we are facing. 💕
Beth Hearn
Oh, Leslie! I’m so glad you posted. I’ve been wondering how you were doing. The time we bumped into each other at Walmart about 18 months ago, I didn’t know it at the time, but I had cancer too. I was diagnosed a few months later and went through difficult treatments. Praise God, I am in remission now and on maintenance treatments. Yes, I decided there were things God wanted to teach me. He wastes nothing. I have learned so much!! You are an inspiration. Keep fighting and learning all you can. I love you, Friend!! 💗💗💗
Leslie
Beth, I was SO VERY thankful when I heard you were cancer free and healing. I praise the Lord for that. When I first had the diagnosis, a pastor friend said that the Lord had me getting my “masters,” well, I have joked that I have my PhD (and maybe my MD too) now! I have learned so very much, and while I tell people I haven’t arrived to the point where I can say I am thankful for this journey, I can say I am thankful for what I have learned along the way. The biggest lesson is how VERY MUCH my Father loves me! Amazing LOVE! He never wastes anything, and I praise Him for that! Just a real sidenote on my health – I feel great, the cancer is currently stable although we prefer it to be shrinking so we are adjusting some things to see if it makes a difference. My oncologist at Vanderbilt is talking surgery, but I am hoping if we see shrinkage then we can bypass surgery for a third time. I have had two surgery consultations over the last few years and both times the thoracic surgeon did not think how invasive the surgery was warranted what it would do. Just continuing to trust the Lord! 💕
Robin Lambert
Thank you for your message of faith, hope and love in our God Who sees. He is not only sees the past journey, your current situation, He already knows the future.
My husband is 3 time cancer survivor. After his 3rd “inoperable” tumor surgery, he was given 2 years to live. That was August 16, 1993. He is still alive and serving the Lord!
Life is hard, but God is always good. 🥰
Leslie
Yes, we all have our hard in this life, but I am thankful to have God to carry us through it. Praise the Lord for your husband continuing to walk on dry ground too!! 🙌🏼🤍
Kathy Little
What a beautiful story of faithfulness God is giving you, as you walk! And actually as I type that, my first thought was His….. God has been faithfully leading you, directing you, protecting you….. But I am also struck by YOUR faithfulness!! You have been faithfully following, …….following Him thru the uncertain times, following Him thru the questions, following Him thru the small and big setbacks, and praise God, following Him in the small and big victories! Yours is a beautiful story! And as I read about yours, it brings me to contemplate that we all are making that same journey (from one degree to another) thru dry ground, as well! And perhaps we none “arrive” to that place of perfection and bliss — perhaps such a place just plain ole doesn’t exist within the confines of this fallen, broken world! Perhaps all of our stories are more about the “WITH HIM”!! Have you ever done a study on how prevalent that phrase is in Scripture?!!! As you track that theme throughout Scripture, it seems to be His heart in all of it! He wants to be WITH US! Thank you for how your pensive moments always seem to bring me to ponder deeper! Even so, Lord Jesus, come!
Leslie
Your comment went to spam so I’m just seeing this! 🙄 God has always been faithful, but I am so thankful that I chose to give Him this trial when it started. We all have that choice to make (EVERY day!) with whatever we are facing. And it’s hard not to be faithful to Him when I keep my focus on His faithfulness which is KEY (as you know). In these five years I have done so much emotional and spiritual processing on my own and with the Lord. Trusting Him to carry me, to answer questions, to rejoice in (good and bad days) – those are the start of the reasons I can live in uncertainty with a smile. “The joy of the LORD is {my} strength!” (Neh 8:10).
I have not done a study on “with Him” but it sounds so encouraging. Friend, I have never prayed more for His return than I have in the last five years and yet I have a desire for Him to tarry if it means more come to Him. BUT I still want Him to come! Ha! Love you and always appreciate you reading and commenting. 💕