Joy

The waters saw You, O God
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,
the skies resounded with thunder;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
Your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,
Your way through the mighty waters,
though Your footprints were not seen.

You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

~Psalm 77:16-20

This is our God. The God who can blaze a path through the mighty waters and not leave a footprint. The God who can melt the heart of thickest stone. The God who took the driest of dirt and molded a race who would one day reject Him.

There is a joy that my God brings to me that I can't explain. It's deeper than happiness, and stronger than sadness. And yet, why do I suppress that joy so amazing? I think it is because it is deeper than happiness. And I think it is because it is so much stronger than sadness. Yes, it seems to me that the very reason I refuse to take part in the joy of the Father is because it is so incredible. Sometimes it is just easier to be happy or sad or indifferent. It is much harder to take part in the joy that is offered us, because to understand that joy is to understand just how desperately we need a Savior. We must realize that our mountain of sin is much too high to climb. And then the joy comes when we see that Jesus doesn't merely help us climb that mountain. He destroys it.

And so the Israelites were full of Joy that day. They saw the sea in front of them and knew that they would be massacred by the Egyptians unless a Savior came. So He did. And He didn't put them in boats so that they could cross it, He moved the sea so they could go through it.