Inspire, Summer 2009

24 SUMMER 2009 The Path of Faith Bobby Hile ’90 spoke in Cedarville’s chapel services on April 1 and 2. The following comes from his message on the second day, which focused on Exodus 13–14. The full message can be heard at www.ThePath.fm/chapel . Call 1-888-CEDARVILLE (233-2784) or visit www.cedarville.edu/graduate for registration information. Earn your M.Ed. from Cedarville. Register now for fall 2009! • Alumni Specials —Take your first class at half price! For all other classes, receive a 25% scholarship. • Convenient Courses — Choose four-Saturday or online hybrid options. • Contact graduate admissions for details. “If you stop growing today, you stop teaching tomorrow.” — Howard Hendricks Today, the question we’re going to look at is “God, where are You taking me?” Sometimes in our Christian experience, we may see the way forward and know what to do next, but we still wonder what the end result will be. Speaking from personal experience, it can be extremely frustrating when you’re following someone who doesn’t know where to go. Often, I feel that way with God. I know He’s leading me, and I know I’m supposed to follow Him — but the direction I’m going and the steps I take to get there don’t make sense. The Hebrew people in the book of Exodus felt the same way. God had told Moses that He would deliver His people, but the process didn’t go the way they thought it would. First, Pharaoh refused to let them leave. Then, God engaged Pharaoh with a series of plagues. When they finally left Egypt, God took them on a longer route through the desert, even though there was a shorter way. After all that, He told them to turn around and encamp back where they came from — between two mountains, in front of the Red Sea, with Egypt behind them. And right then, they looked back and saw the Egyptian army barreling after them. From a human perspective, it was absolutely impossible for them to get out of their situation. With nowhere to go, they cried out in fear and said, “Moses, what are you doing? It would have been better for us to stay in Egypt!” Yet they had followed God’s direction to get there. At this point, there was nothing they could do except trust Him. We know, of course, what happened next. The Hebrew people — all 2.5 million of them — walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. Moses then gave the word, and the water came back down. Looking back, we know God led them to that exact spot to give them an opportunity to see His power, so that they would know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He was God. We have situations in our lives that feel like what the Hebrews went through. You may be facing challenges that are way beyond your time, talents, or resources. You might be wondering why God would bring you to this spot and where He will take you next. I believe that God always brings us to a point in our lives where we have nothing to do except trust Him. And that is the best place to be. We’ve heard it said before that faith is not a feeling. Faith is believing something to be true even when we can’t feel or experience it. God is taking us along the path of faith, and we know He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He always gives us the opportunity to see His power and know that He is God. At the end of the day, we can’t pat ourselves on the back and say, “See what I’ve done.” Instead, we can only say, “Look at what God has done!” Bobby Hile ’90 serves as a missionary with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. He and his wife, Sara (Sweetland) ’92, have worked in Durban, South Africa, since 1994 and have three children, Abigail, Andrew, and Christopher. You may contact Bobby at bobbyhile@abwe.cc . “Faith is believing something to be true even when we can’t feel or experience it.”