Where is your faith???

I have always been just baffled & amazed when reading Exodus how God continually provided for the Israelites after their escape from Egypt & what was their response???


Grumbling, complaining & unfaithfulness.


To take a look at just the beginning we have the Israelites escaping from Eqypt. He kept them from experiencing the plagues,saved their firstborns during the passover & provided a way out of Egypt. God provides a pillar of cloud by day & a pillar of fire by night to guide them to where he wanted them to go. Then as they are camped between a the Egyptians & the Red Sea what is their response??


Fear, whining, & despair!


After watching God's powerful hand deliver them from Egypt this was their only response! Where was their trust in God? They had to learn from experience that God was able to provide for them. This is the first of MANY instances of grumbling & complaining by the Israelites. Grumbling would become a major problem for these people as they traveled.

On with the story, so Moses told the people "Do not be afraid, stand firm & you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Sound familiar?? Exodus 14:14 references another well known verse. Psalms 46:10 Be still & know that I am God. I will be exaulted among the nations. I will be exaulted in all the Earth.


Be still... What a concept. Maybe we should try THAT sometime!


So, here we have the Israelites "trapped" when God tells Moses to raise his staff & stretch out his hand over the sea to divide the water so they can pass on dry land. Now, do you think Moses thought yea, right? Nope, he just obeyed & all night God drove the waters back until they were divided & there was dry land...not a drop of water left! As they were through God directed Moses to again stretch out his hand so that the waters will swallow up the Egyptians. Not one of them survived. The Israelites saw the great power of the Lord that night.


However, do you think they put their trust in God? Well they did for a little while anyway.

God has preserved these examples in the Bible so that we can learn to trust him the first time. Yet how often do we find ourselves doing the same thing-complaining over inconveniences or discomforts? I'd say more ofthen than not.


Maybe we should learn the first time to put all our trust in God!


Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him & he will make your paths straight.