Moving forward after you experienced trauma or an unfortunate circumstance can be hard. Sometimes the fear of what may lie ahead can also be an issue.

“And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward (Exodus 14:15). The Israelites were in transition between enslavement and freedom. Enslavement lied before them, and freedom lie ahead of them past the red sea. I couldn’t imagine taking in the red sea and knowing my only way out of enslavement was to trust my leader Moses and the God that had done miraculous things to show me His power against my oppressor. This was what they had to do and fear gripped them (Exodus 14:11-15).

Sometimes this is the dilemma in our own lives. We struggle to move forward out of fear. Yes, the fear is real. We may not be looking in the night at a red sea, but the issues in our lives can make us afraid to go on. We must understand that the unknown may be challenging but there is greater future outcome. Nothing we do in life comes without struggle or pain. We must know that things take time. The Israelites didn’t know it would take them forty years to get to the promise land but it did. It took so long because they spent a lot of it doubting Moses and God or complaining.

Sometimes you have to do afraid. You have to move forward through faith. You may not have all the information but God does and you just have to trust the process. When you know you have done all you can, lean on God for what you can’t do. God always tells me “No matter what I see keep moving”. The first time I heard that was in 2014. It meant little to me then because I had not matured enough. Now it means that trouble, distractions, burdens, issues may come but I have to keep going through life.

If we didn’t go through anything, how could we be a light to others? How could we help other people? How would we learn how strong we are and what we can endure?

You have to understand that moving forward is important. The Israelites only had an 11-day trip. It took them forty years to journey from the red sea to the promise land (Deuteronomy 1:2-3). Things take time but the Israelites murmured and complained instead of focusing on moving forward. We all complain. Life is hard and it’s understandable that we would complain. The other side of it is knowing you determine the journey by every decision you make.

As you move forward focus on how far you come. Think of how far God brought you and all He brought you through. Had the Israelites focused on that it would not have taken them so long to get to the promise land. Their story does show us that we can be our biggest stumbling block at times.

You can make it with God. You can go forward through faith in God. You can start the business. You can go back to school. You can own your own home. You can write the book. You can love again. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).

Go forward and trust God through the unknown.