“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:14
My eight-year-old son Griffin asked me a question recently that cracked me up, but it also got me thinking. We were sitting at the table, and with zero defiance in his heart, he said, “Mom, what if God tells you to do something that you know God said it, but you just want to say, ‘No God, you do it’?”
I laughed because, honestly, that’s such a relatable feeling. But here’s what I told him: “Griffin, there are going to be times in life where God is going to ask you to do something, and you should do it because you’re learning to trust Him, to obey Him, and to listen to His voice. But there will also be times—especially as you get older—where God is going to call you to do something that you are fully aware is completely impossible without a divine intervention.“
And when He calls you to do those impossible things? Listen and obey the same way you’re learning to do the small things now.
The Detour That Readies You for Battle
My husband Ethan and I recently had our own personal exodus. After nearly 20 years in local TV news—a career that was literally all we’d ever known—we felt God stirring in our hearts. And let me tell you, it made zero logical sense.
We were 18 months away from the end of our contract. I’m talking about a legally binding document here, y’all. But I kept feeling this stirring, this movement in my spirit that said, “It’s time.”
Ethan, who is so discerning and loves the Lord, was like, “Babe, I feel you, but we really don’t even need to have that conversation for like 18 more months. We have a contract, and we need to honor it. We’re Christians—we need to be people of our word.”
And he was right. But I couldn’t shake the feeling.
You know what’s interesting? In Exodus 13:17-18, it says that when Pharaoh finally let the people go, God didn’t lead them along the shortest route to the Promised Land. He led them the long way, through the wilderness, toward the Red Sea. Why? Because “if the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
It is the detour that readies us for battle.
And 2020, and even 2021, has been a detour for so many of us. Businesses hurting, families struggling, individuals facing impossible circumstances. But hear me: for the child of God, that detour is not without purpose. It is readying us for what’s ahead.
When You’re Staring Down Your Red Sea
So here’s where it gets really good. The Israelites are traveling, and God is leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. His heart is to lead us—He doesn’t want His plan to be evasive or secretive. He longs to guide us.
But then they get to the Red Sea. Behind them? Pharaoh’s entire army charging after them. In front of them? An impossible obstacle—a massive body of water with no way across.
And the people panic. They cry out to Moses: “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? Better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!”
Can you relate? Maybe you’re looking at your marriage, your bank account, your wayward child, your health situation, and you’re thinking, “This is impossible. This isn’t moving.”
But Moses’s response? “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
God’s Word to You: Get Moving
Here’s what wrecks me about this story. Right after Moses tells them to be calm and watch God work, the Lord says to Moses: “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving. Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water.”
Wait, what? God is saying, “Move toward the impossible obstacle. Use what I’ve already placed in your hand. Raise the staff and watch those waters part.”
But it takes movement from us.
It takes faith and obedience to believe that the sea is going to part when we get there. But we have to get moving first.
When Ethan and I were praying about this transition, I had already been camped out in the book of Exodus for months. I knew how the story ended—and it was good news for us. But you know what? You can know the end of the story and still feel the weight of an impossible obstacle.
We were staring at a contract. A legally binding document that said we couldn’t go anywhere for at least 18 more months. But when the God of heaven calls you, He will make a way. It’s not on us to make the way. It’s on God to make the way.
The Day Everything Changed
One Wednesday, I’m sitting at work when my boss calls me in. My first thought? Oh crap, am I in trouble? Did I say something wrong? Did I have an error in my story?
I walk in, she tells me to shut the door—which only made me sweat more—and then she says, “I know it probably seems really premature to talk about this, but I would like for you to consider signing another five-year contract.”
Y’all. Eighteen months early. Something I saw no movement in—there was nothing on the surface that let me know anything was happening behind the scenes. But God was moving.
As I explained that we felt God was leading us elsewhere, she said, “There are lots of moving parts, lots of dominoes falling into place, and you’re just one part.”
God is always moving. Sometimes we just don’t see it.
My ways are higher than your ways, God was saying. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. I’m writing a story you don’t know anything about yet.
Where Can God Use You Most?
When we met with Hal from Convoy of Hope, he said something that changed everything for us: “God is going to use you wherever you are—whether that’s here, whether that’s at the station, wherever. The question for you is: God, where can you use me the most in this season?“
In our flesh, we both thought, “Oh, for sure in the news business.” It’s secular, there’s opportunity for personal evangelism, and it’s what we know.
But as soon as we started seeking the Lord and asking, “God, where can you use us the most?” it became crystal clear: vocational ministry. At Convoy.
And at this point, there was still no offer on the table. There was still this 18-month contract with a penalty attached.
But I’m reading Exodus, and I’m going, “God is the God of impossible situations.” When He told Moses to lead millions of Israelites across the Red Sea, Moses had to say, “God, only You can do this. Only You can part the sea.”
I feel like You’re moving us, but I can’t dictate how that’s going to happen. What about this contract?
But when the God of heaven calls you, He makes a way.
The Contract That Disappeared
I ran into the nature center one day—I love to run and get alone with God—and I told Him, “I’m not moving from this spot until I hear Your voice. Do You want me to go or stay? I don’t even have a preference anymore. Just tell me what You want.”
I sat there for hours with no answer. Then it started raining, and I was like, “God, hurry up—it’s raining on my phone!” I got up to run back, and there on a bench was an open paperback book, soaked by the rain, opened to a specific page.
The date on the page was the correct date. And the passage? Isaiah 55.
Y’all. Above my fireplace hangs Isaiah 55. Five years ago, a woman prophesied to Ethan and me that we would go to the nations to share the gospel. We knew it was from the Lord so firmly that we have it hanging above our fireplace.
I started reading the devotional for that day, and I knew—I knew that I knew that I knew—I had heard from God. We were going to the nations, and we were taking the gospel. We were supposed to go to Convoy.
When we went in to resign, trying to explain to people who don’t necessarily hear the voice of the Lord, we said, “We just know God has called us to the nations. Five years ago this was prophesied, and this is it.”
We had so much peace—a peace that passes understanding. Yes, there were tears. Yes, there were question marks. Yes, there were logistics to figure out.
But here’s the beautiful part: somewhere between the day we filed our resignation and the day we signed off on air, our general manager came to us with a new contract.
Ethan started to say, “You know, we’re not staying—” but our GM said, “Just read it.”
The penalty was completely null and void.
That doesn’t happen in television news, y’all. You don’t leave a station early as their two main people without paying the penalty. But God—God parts the water.
Your Red Sea Moment
Verse 29 says: “The people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground as the water stood up like a wall on both sides.”
Everyone needs a “that day” moment. A day when God said, “Today is the day. The very obstacle you thought was going to take you out will be your deliverance.”
Whatever Red Sea you’re staring down right now—get moving. Get moving even though it looks impossible, because God will fight for you. You need only be still and watch what only He can do.
Maybe organizationally, you’re looking at feeding 1 million children by 2030. That’s lofty. That’s impossible. But if the Lord has placed it in your heart, it is within your reach because He will give you the victory.
Maybe personally, you’re looking at your marriage, your finances, your health, your prodigal child. The doctor’s report says one thing. The bank account says another. Your circumstances scream “impossible.”
But God is a covenant-keeping God. Contracts are important, but covenants trump contracts. And whenever He calls you to something, He’s going to empower you to do it—with your obedience, with your movement.
The question is simple: Will you listen to His voice and move?
The water is already beginning to part. You just have to take the first step.
Want more encouragement? Follow Sara’s daily devotionals on Instagram @saraforhetz or tune in weekdays 6-10 AM on 88.3 The Wind.
