Dead End

How many have come to that place. Where the road ends and the cliff begins. Where a dense fog clouds your path forward. A place where forward progress comes to a screeching halt and the moment is pregnant with uncertainty. It is a dead end. It is a desparate place. There is no turning back, no turning to the left or right, no retreat. There is no escape except for divine intervention…..
Moses faced a dead end. Before him was the Red Sea, behind him was the Egyptian army. No escape. No options. The Egyptians were closing in and the Israelites cried out to God. There was a pressing on one side from a deadly force and on the other side was an obstacle. Moses told the people to “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord”. When facing a dead end, fear will surely come and be an unwelcome companion. The longer we entertain fear, we will sink into hopelessness. But Moses knew there was an option. That the Lord was going to deliver. There was no other way. As Moses raised his staff, the dead end became a new beginning and victory was accomplished that day.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a dead end. The execution furnace in front of them, no way around, no way out. Nebuchadnezzar called for the heat to be raised by seven times hotter than usual. Fear would raise its head and whisper through the flames of impending doom, yet the three Hebrews held in bondage were unwavering in their devotion to God. As they were thrown into the furnace, their dead end became a testimony of God’s power and His ability to deliver out of impossible situations.
Jesus faced a dead end. Hanging from a cross, beaten, bloodied, dismembered, His final words “It is finished”. For those faithful who were observing, death had claimed their King and the path forward seemed unclear. As Jesus lay hidden in the tomb, wrapped in grave cloths, it would seem as though hope had been lost. But when the tomb stone was rolled away and Jesus emerged victorious, His dead end is the reason that our dead ends are opportunities to move forward. He faced a dead end once so that He could provide the way for us out of our dead end. Our greatest obstacle was sin and it’s penalty on our lives. That prison had no hope, no release, no life. Now that we are free, there is no dead end that we come to that is impossible. Jesus made all of the dead ends we will face in life as open doors. Know for certain that you will travel roads which come to an abrupt end. When you come to that place where there is no path forward, do not fear! Remember Jesus has already passed through and made a way where there was no way.