Seashells on the seashore

My only living grandparent is my grandmother named Poo (there is a story behind her nickname). Poo is 94 years old. One of her hobbies when I was growing up was hunting for seashells. She would walk along the shoreline and look for unique, colorful, and complete shells. She could spend hours upon hours hunting for that perfect shell. She would take these shells home to clean them and she would make art out of them. Every piece of art she made had a story behind it. She would tell where, when, and how she found those particular seashells. Growing up, I really didn't appreciate her art like she did. If I'm honest, that is the way I probably treat some of the great work done by God.

Exodus 14 tells the remarkable victory of God's people over the Egyptians. The Israelites have fled Egypt and God performs a miracle and parts the Red Sea to allow them to escape the pursuit of the Egyptian army. Just as the Israelites get across the sea, the Egyptians start their pursuit on the same dry bed, but soon God releases the water and drowns all the Egyptians. Exodus 14:30, "That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore."

Read that verse again. Let it sink in. God saved His people from the power of the Egyptians. Slavery ended for them that day. Fear ended for them that day. Their kids saw the very people that their parents were in bondage to, die. This power that had such a hold on them, and looked so impossible to ever get out from under, came crashing down in an instance. Who could ever defeat this great army? GOD. Let it sink in. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Let it sink in. They saw faces, they saw tools used to destroy enemies, they saw chariots. The people of God saw human warriors and their tools of the trade lining the seashore. Are you getting a mental image? God destroyed everything and everyone and then washed it up on the shore for His people to catch a visual. Why?

Let it sink in. I think that was His purpose. How quickly we can forget that we serve an Almighty, All-Powerful God. God can accomplish anything in your life. God can go to battle against your greatest fears, your greatest nuisance, your greatest bondage, your greatest mountain and not only conquer it but wash it up on the shore so you can see it DEAD, GONE for yourself. The people broke out in a song right after that visual. It was a group exercise in praising God. What has God conquered in your life? Praise Him today for that victory. Share with others your story of God's great art that you have seen on the seashore. In what area of life do you still need to see God's victory? Pause right now and give that area to the LORD, proclaim Him as your Victor and allow Him to fight that battle for you!