The Next Chapter

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.  The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.’”
~Exodus 15:1-3

​After the victorious crossing of the Red Sea, the defeat of Pharaoh and his army, and tasting freedom, everything seemed to be going good.  We could end our study of Moses and the Exodus here, on the other side of the Red Sea.  However, the story of Moses’ life is not done.  This is just the close of one chapter—a new one awaits.  

​Moses may have felt that his most difficult moments were behind him.  Now that the Israelites were free, the rest should be smooth sailing, right?  Wrong.  Unbeknownst to him, forty years of wilderness wandering, discontent, and trial were awaiting him.  He had no idea what he signed up for. 
 
The moment the Israelites left the shores of the greatest miracle yet and headed into the wilderness, they would do nothing but complain.  But God was faithful, despite their constant grumbling.  And it was during these moments that some of the greatest miracles occurred. 
 
Moses probably felt like he finally got the leadership thing down.  People were listening to him, they thought he was great.  He finally had authority in the eyes of Israel.  But God wasn’t done with him.  God wanted Moses to not only become a great leader who was a willing instrument to channel God’s will, but also a man who wanted to spend time with Him.  A man who would desire to see His glory and know Him more fully.  A man with whom God could build a deeper relationship.
 
As God called Moses and Israel into the wilderness, He had many things in store for both parties.  Therefore, let’s not skip over this next section of Scripture, because there is a lot of good stuff in here!  But rather, let’s learn from the mistakes of Israel and watch Moses go from being a great leader to the man God talked with face to face.  Because God wants the same kind of relationship with us.  He wants us to behold His glory and walk in His presence.
 
Have you recently had a major victory in your life?  Do you feel like everything is going great in your spiritual walk and that your story could end here?
 
Don’t stop reading!  Don’t stop praying!  Don’t stop seeking God!  Bigger, better things await you!  Just as Moses still had much to do after the pinnacle moment of crossing the Red Sea, God also has more in store for you.  You are not finished and are not done until you reach heaven.
 
But right now you can worship.  What did Moses and the children of Israel do after crossing the Red Sea and being delivered from bondage?  They sang.  Their journey wasn’t done, but after this big moment, they worshipped the Lord. 
 
Likewise, after a big victory and miracle in your life, you should worship.  Singing praises to our God should be an immediate reaction and response to God’s miraculous works of deliverance, provision, and redemption in our lives. 
 
So in closing, we should not stop seeking God and walking closer to Him even after the big moments when we may be tempted to feel like we’ve arrived.  But we can worship.  We can worship as we walk.  We can sing as we seek God’s will for the next chapter of our lives.  We can praise the Lord as we head into the unknown.  Because God is faithful and wants to bring us to the top of Mount Sinai where we can behold His glory. 
 
Therefore, let’s keep reading the journey of Moses and the children of Israel, and keep following the Lord wherever He leads.