Exodus 14:30-31
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.  And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Seeing the work of the Lord led the people to fear and believe God.  He had led them out, cleared a path, and left their enemies defeated behind them.  No longer would they have to fear the Egyptians’ power over them or be the servants of their captors.  And as the wall of water came crashing down, Egypt knew that God was on Israel’s side, working mightily on their behalf.  And as the bodies washed up on the shore, surely then Israel knew God was on their side, He was working, He was real, He was powerful.  So they stepped through that water and came out free on the other side.

This amazing event also tells us something about our salvation.  First, it is all God’s doing.  He does the saving work Himself.  There was no path to salvation for the people of Israel except that path of dry land through the sea.  And the way of salvation is a narrow path through Jesus Christ.  He alone could pay for our sins and unite us to the Father.  Only Christ could accomplish the sacrifice required to set us free from our greatest enemy.  So, it is also a miraculous salvation, something we can’t accomplish on our own and something we must trust God for.

And when we are saved, our enemy can touch us no longer.  We are completely free from our captivity and bondage, no strings attached.  It is a complete severing of the old from the new.  The one who held us captive is defeated by God, so we can move forward and leave all of that behind.  For Israel, there would be a whole new life waiting on the other side, something they’d never known as their nation spent years in captivity.  And for us, we have so much to look forward to in living for God and walking with Him and dedicating our lives to Him.  What an amazing thing it is to breathe in that freedom for the first time and move forward with hope for our future.

Seeing this powerful display caused a great change in the people that day.  And may seeing the work of Christ cause us to fear and believe, as well.  May we remember the great work that He has done on our behalf and trust Him first as Savior.  And then as we see Him work in many other ways, may that strengthen our faith and trust in Him.  May we never forget what we were saved from.  And may we keep looking toward our great deliverer as we experience Him working personally in our own lives.