The promise keeper

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read Exodus 14:19-31 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

‘Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.’ Exodus 14:21

Can God keep His promises? It’s a question we may be asking in these ‘in between times’. It may be personal: a bad habit or besetting sin that we just can’t shake. It may be general, as we wonder if there will ever be peace on earth as it is in heaven.

The Israelites doubted, as they stood on the shore of the Red Sea. But God showed that He is the One who created the universe; He has the power to keep His promises. The Bible echoes the Bible. Exodus 14 rings with echoes of Genesis 1. It begins in verses 19 and 20, as God separates the light from the darkness. Then, in verses 21 and 22, God separates water from water and sea from dry land. The crossing of the Red Sea begins at evening and ends in the morning, as do the days of Genesis 1 (whether literal or metaphorical!).

God has the power to rescue His people from slavery, darkness and death, because He is the one who freely made light and life out of darkness and chaos, right back in the beginning.

This linking of the power of God to create and the power of God to rescue His people continues to echo through the rest of the Bible and to us today:

- Jesus walking on Lake Galilee echoes the Spirit of God moving on the waters, and echoes I AM rescuing His people through water.

- 'For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4:6)

- ‘He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’ (Colossians 1:13-14)

The God who made the universe and whose Son Jesus Christ died and rose again is more powerful than my sin. He is more powerful than the men of war. We can trust Him to keep His promises.

Let us pray: Almighty God, Creator and Redeemer, help us to trust You when we feel powerless. Bring us and this world out of slavery to darkness and death, into Your kingdom of light and life, through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Revd Matt Hornby, Vicar of Coppull and Coppull St John