When God’s Guidance Isn’t Visible
- Rebecca Montrone
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Beck's Daily Dig for Monday, November 24, 2025
When You Don’t See the Way
“Your way was in the sea,
And Your paths in the mighty waters;
And Your footprints may not be known.”
— Psalm 77:19
Some of God’s paths are obvious. Others are bewildering—a stretch of deep waters with no visible crossing.
We often imagine that if God is leading, it will feel clear, bright, unmistakable. But Scripture paints a different picture:
God sometimes leads in ways we cannot see
until we’re already standing on the far shore.
Israel didn’t see the path through the sea. They saw walls of water and heard the roar of wind. They saw danger, not direction.
Yet God’s footprints were there—unseen, but sure.
If you’re in a season where you can’t make sense of what God is doing - when God's guidance isn't visible - take heart! Lack of clarity does not mean lack of guidance.
"God has never once needed your ability to see the way
—only your willingness to follow the One who does."
The Way Through the Sea: When God Leads Through the Impossible
1. Read the Original Event (Exodus 13–14)
Recommended passages:
Exodus 13:17–22 — God deliberately leads Israel toward the sea
Exodus 14:1–4 — God intends to place Israel in an impossible situation
Exodus 14:13–14 — “Stand firm… the LORD will fight for you”
Exodus 14:19–25 — The Angel of God moves behind them
Exodus 14:21–31 — The parting of the waters
Key Observations to Notice:
God positions His people where escape is humanly impossible
The “pillar of cloud” both protects and obscures
Israel sees deliverance only as it unfolds
The miracle required them to walk forward before they saw the path
2. Read the Reinterpretation (Psalm 77)
Psalm 77 is not just recalling history — it is reinterpreting it.
Especially note:
Psalm 77:16 — creation responds to God
Psalm 77:19 — His footprints are unseen
Psalm 77:20 — His shepherding through Moses and Aaron
Reflection: The psalmist takes a terrifying historical moment and reframes it as evidence of God’s faithful leading even in hiddenness.
3. Connect the Theme in Scripture
Other key passages that reveal God guiding through the dark or unclear path:
Isaiah 43:2 — “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
Isaiah 42:16 — “I will lead the blind in a way they do not know.”
Job 23:8–10 — “I go forward… but He is not there… yet He knows the way I take.”
Habakkuk 3:15 — “You trampled the sea with Your horses.”
Psalm 23:4 — “Even though I walk through the valley… You are with me.”
These passages show a consistent biblical pattern:
God often leads His people through what looks like chaos, not around it.
4. Historical Note to Enrich Understanding
Scholars point out that “the way through the sea” is one of the Old Testament’s defining moments — the paradigm of deliverance. Israel’s calendar, worship, psalms, and prophetic hope all returned to this moment repeatedly.
By the time you get to Psalm 77, the crossing of the sea has become shorthand for:
God’s power over creation
God’s faithfulness when all seems lost
God’s ability to carve impossible paths
This is why the Psalmist uses it during personal crisis: He remembers a national deliverance to anchor personal fear.
5. Questions for Reflection
Use these for deeper meditation or journaling:
Where in my life do I feel “pressed between the sea and the army”?
Do I equate God’s leading with clarity—or with faithfulness?
What past deliverance can I bring to mind as the psalmist did?
Am I willing to walk forward before I see the path?
Where do I need to trust God’s unseen footprints today?
*Interested in knowing how to enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Say a Salvation Prayer and Receive Jesus Christ Today. Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide.
