Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
There are always divine exit doors out of what
usually appears to be a dead end because God always has the final say and God
always makes a way where there appears to be no way so that His name is always
glorified. Therefore, there are no dead ends; not even when you are hedged in
by the red sea and the chariots of determined to annihilate Pharaoh are in
fierce pursuit. Pharaoh and his host thought that they had total victory; after
all the Israelites had nowhere to run to; no seeming exit door out of where
they were; between the red sea and his pursuing army. But unknown to Pharaoh,
God always has exit points known to Him alone until in His infinite mercy, He
shows the exit points to His loved ones. The sea which appeared to be a natural
barricade against the children of Israel actually turned out to be the perfect
exit point for them. God Who created nature intervened in the natural course of
events and the sea gave way for safe passage to the children of Israel.
Unfortunately that same sea not only barricaded the chariots of Pharaoh and
Pharaoh; but it also swallowed them after the Israelites had crossed on to the
other side safely. Please see Exodus Chapter 14 for the full details of this
story.
Esau appeared to have been hedged in by the mistake
of selling his birthright to his younger brother for a meal of pottage. In
addition, Esau lost his father’s blessings because their mother Rebecca asked
Jacob to outsmart Esau by pretending to be Esau in order to gain his father’s
blessings. Additionally, Esau married heathen women and lost favor with his
parents. What then were his prospects for making it in life? Apparently, none!
But Esau did not give up and did not give in. He prevailed on his father to do
something to redeem his situation. Isaac then uttered what appeared to be mere
words. But fortunately for Esau, he took note of those words uttered and he
became restless and broke the yoke of servitude to his brother. He also became
economically and politically prosperous – he did not bow down to Jacob and he
had an army of four hundred men in addition to numerous material things. Please
see Genesis Chapters 27 and 33.
At some point in his life, Jacob also appeared to
have been hemmed in as a keeper of the flocks of Laban. Supposedly smart Laban
who had cheated Jacob in time past decided to ensure that Jacob never got his
own flock. Laban removed every flock that could have birthed what Jacob
requested for as wages for his labor of looking after the family flock. Jacob
was undaunted by Laban’s treachery as he creatively sought divine exit doors
out of the blockade. Please see Genesis Chapter 30 verses 25 to 43.
The brothers of Joseph thought they had put paid to
Joseph’s dream of lording it over them by selling him off as a slave to
Midianite traders. Unfortunately for them but fortunately for Joseph, his
brothers had simply but unknowingly sent him on in his divine path to global
fame, wealth, honor and lordship over them. It was in Egypt that Joseph became
Prime Minister. The wife of Potiphar also attempted to blockade Joseph’s
progress by first enticing Joseph to sin and when Joseph refused to commit sin
with her; she accused Joseph falsely and Joseph was thrown into prison. How
ironic that both Potiphar and his wife only fast tracked Joseph’s rise to the
top as prison turned out to be Joseph’s launch pad to the top. It was in prison
that Joseph met with and interacted with the chief butler of Pharaoh who
eventually recommended Joseph to Pharaoh. Joseph’s dreams and visions of the
future God ordained for Him from the foundation of the world suddenly unfolded
the moment Joseph stood before Pharaoh; interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and
proffered the solutions to the challenges posed by the dreams. Please see
Genesis Chapters 40 and 41 for details. The journey to Egypt was not a
barricade after all. It was actually an open door to greatness for a young man
envied and hated by his older siblings.
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