The residents of a remote area of Alaska were having serious trouble with wolves. In desperation the residents posted a $5,000 reward for each wolf brought in dead. That sizable reward prompted Bill and Joe to try their luck.

The two men hiked deep into the Alaskan wilderness, set up camp, and settled into their tent for a night’s sleep. Their plan was to rise early the next morning and start hunting. Shortly after midnight, however, Bill was awakened by noises that sounded like growling. At first he thought they were just Joe snoring in the sleeping bag next to him, but then he realized that Joe was sleeping quietly. No, the sounds were coming from outside the tent.

It was then that Bill noticed the silhouettes that were being cast onto the tent by the moonlight and the flames of the campfire. The shapes of the silhouettes left no doubt as to what form of creatures were growling outside the tent. It was a pack of wolves.

Bill shook Joe to wake him, and Joe finally roused up enough to groggily ask, “What’s the matter?” Bill said, “Well, it’s one of those bad news-good news situations.” Joe said, “Okay, what’s the bad news?” Bill answered, “There’s a wolf pack just outside our tent and they are growling like they are ready to pounce.” In a panicked voice, Joe said, “If that’s the bad news, what could the good news possibly be?” Bill responded, “We could be rich!”

Moses and the Israelites trusted God to lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan. What they didn’t expect was that God would lead them to the shores of the Red Sea and then allow Pharaoh’s army to close in behind them. Why did God do that? He did it because He wanted the Israelites to learn to trust Him even in situations that seemed hopeless.

We know, of course, how the story turned out. God parted the waters of the Red Sea and allowed Israel to pass through them on dry land before He brought the waters back together to drown Pharaoh’s army when they followed Israel’s path. Basically, God turned a terrible predicament of bad into a tremendous pathway for good.

Have you ever read Psalm 50:15? In that verse, God extends a glorious invitation to those who serve Him. He says:

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. (N.K.J.V.)

Note that term “the day of trouble.” Have you ever had one of those days, those weeks, those months, or those years? If you haven’t, keep living and you’ll get there. And what should you do during such a time? God says simply, “Call upon Me.” That’s your part right there. Then it’s God’s turn to do His part as He says, “I will deliver you.” Following the deliverance the ball then falls back into your court as God says concerning the aftermath, “…and you shall glorify Me.”

So, are you right now surrounded by some metaphorical pack of wolves? If you are you should call upon God, asking Him to flip the situation around to your benefit. Mind you that this is not the same as asking Him to deliver you out of the situation. After all, God didn’t magically teleport Moses and the Israelites to the other side of the Red Sea, did He? Instead, He kept them in the situation and made a way for them to glean incredible good from it. This is what He will do for you as well.

Afterward should come the praise as you glorify God for what He has done. This is what Moses and the Israelites did on the opposite shore of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-21). But why could they burst into such heartfelt praise? It was only because God had led them straight into a situation that was at the same time filled with both difficulty and opportunity.