by Robert Fudge

When we study the Old Testament stories we need to put ourselves in the place of the people we are studying. It is easy for us to look at them and think that we would never do or say what they were doing. A good example of this is when the children of Israel were leaving Egypt. God had sent the plagues on Egypt and finally after destroying the social and economic life of that country Pharaoh let the Israelites leave Egypt. However in his normal stubborn way, he changed his mind and with his army pursued Israel. They had gone as far as the Red Sea. Now all of a sudden they look up and see the Egyptian army with their chariots coming from behind and in front of them is the sea. They are hemmed in and there is nowhere for them to go. They are not prepared to fight. They have their families and livestock; all about to be slaughtered. Now honestly, what would we do if we were in that situation? Would we complain to Moses our leader? Would we worry? Would we panic? There is no hope of survival! Let’s read just a bit of this account in Exodus 14:13-18:

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."

Verse 15 is the clincher. God says to Moses in effect, “what’s wrong with you, why are you crying and worrying, just keep on going and I will take care of everything”. How many times in our lives do we face an impossible situation (at least we feel it is impossible) and we panic or want to give up or worry ourselves till we are sick? Do we lose faith in our God who has promised He will deliver us, He will take care of us, He will supply our needs?

When we look more closely at the Israelites we see they had every reason to believe. Go back and read the earlier chapters and see God’s concern for them and His power demonstrated on their behalf and it makes us wonder why they even doubted that God would deliver them. When we look honestly at our lives and what God has done for us, do we have any less reason that we should believe? God has delivered me from all kinds of problems, trials and temptations. He has blessed me in more ways than I can count. He has provided my needs when I did not know how they could possibly be met. He has strengthened me when I know I could not take another step in my life. He has given me wisdom to decide when I did not have a clue what to do or say. He forgives me when I know that I don’t deserve it. Add to this that as God he cannot tell a lie and he has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. He has promised that nothing can separate us from His love. He has promised to give us strength to carry on. He has given us His Son and His Word to give us light for our path. He promised that if we seek Him and His way first, all the material things that we need will be provided. So now why should we doubt Him and His promises? My prayer today is that each of us will have a renewed determination to trust God and know that He will take care of us and provide for us. HE IS GOD! PRAISE HIS NAME!

May God be with you all today as we trust Him more.