And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. - Ex. 14:19-23 NIV
We think that all of the events of Israel leaving Egypt happened in a day, but it was a much bigger operation than just a few hundred Israelites and Egyptians chasing after each other. Moses was leading at least six hundred thousand on foot. I don't know if that includes the wives and animals, but notwithstanding, it was an enormous throng and they were loaded down with all of their possessions. They should have been an easy target for the Egyptians with their horses and chariots to overtake, but God had their backs covered. He protected the Israelites with the pillar of the cloud. The cloud ensured that the Egyptians remained in the dark while the Israelites had all the light they needed for their forward progress.
The Israelites were able to see the sea parting and walk through on dry ground. The Egyptians were still in the dark when they stumbled into the midst of the sea and were drowned.
We do not have to stumble about in the dark. We were there once, but not anymore. While the enemy may use the darkness to foster confusion, God has our back and his light illuminates all those situations where we might trip and fall.
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