Have you ever noticed that problems grow when you stare at them?
You can wake up at two in the morning thinking about something that seemed manageable at two in the afternoon, and suddenly it feels enormous. You rehearse everything that could go wrong. You imagine conversations that haven’t happened. You calculate consequences that may never come. Before long, the problem hasn’t actually changed—but it has become enormous in your mind.
Something similar happened to the Israelites at the Red Sea.
Exodus 14 says that when Pharaoh approached, “the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified” (Exodus 14:10 NIV).
Notice where they were looking.
At Pharaoh.
That leads to the third principle in Robert J. Morgan’s The Red Sea Rules and the third lesson in my Red Sea Rules question-based Bible study:
Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.
The Egyptians Really Were Coming
Faith does not require us to pretend our problems aren’t real.
Pharaoh really was coming. His chariots were real. His soldiers were real. The Israelites were genuinely trapped. Saying, “Don’t think about Pharaoh,” would have been foolish.
There are real problems in our lives as well. Cancer is real. Debt is real. Divorce is real. Grief is real. Difficult people are real. Churches have real problems. Families have real problems. Christians should not have to pretend otherwise.
There is a kind of spirituality that amounts to denial. If we simply smile, quote a Bible verse, and refuse to acknowledge reality, we think we are demonstrating faith.
Biblical faith does something different.
It looks squarely at reality—and then looks beyond reality to God.
The study emphasizes that the Christian life includes genuine spiritual warfare. Believers should neither ignore the enemy nor become obsessed with him. Fear grows when our attention becomes fixed on the enemy; faith grows as our attention returns to God.
Whatever Gets Your Attention Gets Bigger
The Israelites made a mistake we make all the time.
They compared themselves to Pharaoh.
That comparison was terrifying.
Pharaoh had trained soldiers. Israel had former slaves.
Pharaoh had horses. Israel was on foot.
Pharaoh had chariots. Israel had children and livestock.
Pharaoh had weapons. Israel had walking sticks.
If the question was, “Are we stronger than Pharaoh?” the answer was obvious.
No.
But that was the wrong comparison.
The question wasn’t whether Israel was stronger than Pharaoh. The question was whether Pharaoh was stronger than God.
That changes everything.
We often do exactly what Israel did. We compare our resources to our problem. “Do I have enough money? Do I have enough ability? Am I strong enough? Do I know the right people? Can I handle this?”
Sometimes the truthful answer is no.
But Christians have another question available to us: “Is this problem bigger than God?”
That answer is always no.
Keep Your Eyes on the Lord
This principle appears throughout Scripture.
David looked at Goliath differently from everyone else. Saul’s soldiers looked at Goliath and thought, “Look how big he is compared with us.” David looked at Goliath and essentially thought, “Look how small he is compared with God.”
Peter learned the same lesson while walking on water.
As long as his attention was directed toward Jesus, he did something impossible. Matthew 14:30 says, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (NIV).
The wind had been there all along.
What changed?
Peter’s focus.
He started watching the storm instead of watching Jesus.
We do that too.
We watch the news. We watch the stock market. We watch the medical numbers. We watch attendance. We watch our bank balance. We watch what other people are doing. We watch everything that could possibly go wrong.
Then we wonder why we are afraid.
Don’t Give the Devil More Attention Than He Deserves
There is also a spiritual dimension to Morgan’s third rule.
The Bible teaches that we have an enemy. Peter warns, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV). Paul tells us that our struggle is not merely against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).
We shouldn’t be naive about spiritual warfare.
But neither should we become fascinated with Satan.
Some Christians seem to see a demon behind every flat tire, computer failure, headache, and difficult person. They talk more about what Satan is doing than about what God is doing.
That gives the enemy far too much attention.
The third Red Sea Rule provides a healthy balance: acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.
Satan is real.
But he isn’t God’s equal.
Christianity does not teach that God and Satan are two roughly equal supernatural powers fighting over the universe. Satan is a created being. God is the Creator. There is no comparison.
Pharaoh looked terrifying to Israel.
He didn’t look terrifying to God.
What Are You Looking At?
This principle raises a practical question: What occupies most of your mental attention?
Suppose you are dealing with a serious problem. You think about it while driving. You talk about it over dinner. You lie awake thinking about it. You tell three friends about it. You read articles about it. You imagine every possible outcome.
Then you spend five minutes praying.
Which one is likely to seem bigger afterward—God or the problem?
There is wisdom in giving problems appropriate attention. Some situations require research, planning, counsel, and action. But there comes a point where thinking about a problem stops being productive and becomes rumination.
At that point, you aren’t solving the problem anymore.
You are feeding your fear.
This is when we deliberately turn our attention toward God. We read Scripture. We remember what He has done. We worship. We pray. We rehearse His promises. We talk with people who remind us of His faithfulness.
We don’t deny Pharaoh.
We just refuse to make Pharaoh the biggest thing in our field of vision.
Your Problem May Be Big. Your God Is Bigger.
Imagine standing beside the Israelites that day.
Behind you is the most powerful military force you have ever known.
In front of you is an uncrossable sea.
You don’t know what God is going to do.
But Moses does know something.
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today” (Exodus 14:13 NIV).
Israel was looking backward at Pharaoh.
Moses told them to start looking for God.
Perhaps that is what someone needs to do today.
Your problem may be every bit as serious as you think it is. The diagnosis may be frightening. The financial problem may be real. The relationship may really be in trouble. You may genuinely have no idea what to do next.
Acknowledge it.
Deal honestly with it.
But don’t stare at Pharaoh so long that you forget who is standing with you beside the sea.
Study Red Sea Rules With Your Group
This article is based on Lesson 3 of my Red Sea Rules: A Question-Based Bible Study Guide, based on Robert J. Morgan’s The Red Sea Rules and the dramatic events of Exodus 14–15.
The complete study contains ten sessions designed to help Christians trust God when they find themselves in seemingly impossible circumstances. Each lesson includes Scripture, discussion questions, practical applications, and insights from respected Christian teachers.
Red Sea Rules is available now on Amazon.
You can also learn more about the study and access it through Good Questions Have Groups Talking:
Next in the series: When You Don’t Know What to Do, Pray
