 It seems that they always had to pass through these waters before they could know the presence of God. There always had to be this initial, may I call it a non-baptism baptism, where you pass through the water but you don't get wet. You know, the impossibility just parts and makes your way. I've known it, and many others have known it, where you know in your heart you've been taken out of your own weakness and you've been brought by the strength of God to an unfamiliar place, a place you've not walked before.