Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Exodus 15:11, NIV
The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
Exodus 16:3, NIV
Have there ever been a people like the Israelites? They escape Egypt via the miracles of God, and they celebrate. The Egyptians come after them and they scream in terror. They miraculously pass through the sea and watch the Egyptian army drown and they celebrate. They get into the wilderness, and they say it would have been better to die in Egypt than in the desert. What was wrong with them that they praised God for His mighty deliverance in one breath, and were terrified that they were going to die because they had no rescuer in the next?
What was wrong with them, was that they were human!
It is human nature to panic when threatened, and to celebrate when delivered - we all do it! Think about how many times you were very concerned about something and thought that the world was about to fall apart. Then when you prayed and it didn't fall apart, you gave thanks to God and were certain that you would never doubt Him ever again, only to be cowering in fear in record time because you were now afraid of the next big threat in your life.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just learn to not do that? Wouldn't it be grand if we were not so schizoprhenic in our daily lives? It is possible, you know, but it requires something that goes completely against human nature...
trust in God!
O house of Israel, trust in the LORD - He is their help and shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD - He is their help and shield.
You who fear Him, trust in the LORD - He is their help and shield.
Psalms 115:9-11, NIV
Today is the 16th day of the 30 day challenge to study the books of Moses, with Exodus 13-16 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you cast aside your fears and learn to trust in Him!