Psalm 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, *
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.

I like this image and never ever tire of being reminded of the truth embodied in it- the juxtaposition of

• DEEP as in ocean floor deep
• VALLEY , the valley made by two walls of the deep looming on either side and conjuring the picture of the valley of death ‘though I walk through the valley of death’
• DESERT as in the place where Jesus went to pray.

Add to these images the action of God – ‘…he led them through….’

God leads us through troubled zones, crisis times, health scares, insurmountable prison walls. God makes a way, creates a path, opens a door, forges a crevice…THROUGH, not over, not around, not back.  No do-overs.  No return to the state of being before the troubled zone, the health or relational crisis, the imprisonment, the revelation of a heartbreak.

God is the architect, the TripAdvisor, the Google Map camera- making a way for us through trouble. But getting through is wholly dependent on our trusting God – trusting that we are meant to go through this particular trial and recognizing that we have no means to avoid it. We can’t think our way out, over, or around.  And we can’t go back as a way of avoiding going through. To  move forward through is trusting that the road was carved out, mapped out, for us by God who loves us.  We were led to this intersection of crisis and faith for a reason.

God is in this – whatever your ‘this’ is – in the way through.

And when we trust His way, who’s to say that way through is all doom and gloom, grim and desert like.  Dan Piraro’s comic strip yesterday, Bizarro, brought a smile.  Made me realize and appreciate and think about our FUN-loving God.  Perhaps some ways through are fun – maybe joyful, maybe willy-nilly free spirited.  What a blessing Piraro’s illustration brought to me.  When I trust God’s way through, I just might find myself riding a really good wave.

Praise Him.

Lectionary Readings: AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48
2 Kings 21:1-18; 1 Cor. 10:14-11:1; Matt. 8:28-34