Exodus

Typing with a cat around is extremely difficult. I have one currently sitting on my wrist as I attempt to type.

Back to the relevant and the point of this post...

God spoke to me during Jr High (Wednesday night), and I had not expected Him to. I hadn't anticipated hearing anything poignant or so direct from Him, and I don't know why. He's always speaking and always teaching I guess I usually fall into a state of mind where I don't always expect Him to speak so directly. Part of listening and hearing from God is having our own hearts open and aware to things He would be telling us at any given moment and in any situation. 

This time it came as I was leading the girl's small group, and we read from Exodus 16. God has led the Israelites out of Egypt and they have been in the desert some time:

2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see theglory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him... (Exodus 16:6-8)

It's easy to see the parallels: Egypt is my life before Christ - captive to sin. Now I've got freedom in Christ and the deserts I find myself in change from season to season. This season's desert is unemployment.

The challenge of living through the deserts is learning to trust God. Golly gee! Isn't that earth shattering! Sarcasm aside, look at the Israelites, God has just come and set them free from years upon years of slavery, a true miracle and act of grace and they turn and throw it back in His face. The Israelites declare that they would have rather died in Egypt than have been led into the desert to die. I'm sure we've all done or felt similar things to this. 

There it is, trust issues. We all fall into that at some point in our lives. See what I mean? Do we not regularly face this challenge in trusting that God does not lead us places needlessly or without a plan? No step or action is without purpose or consideration, and each step is planned out of God's goodness and love. 

I know that there are situations where I do fail at trusting in the goodness of God, and worry and wonder at whether or not I will make it out of this desert alive. I may not grumble like the Israelites, but I do sometimes forget that God did not lead me to this place unintentionally. 

In spite of the lack of trust, ungratefulness and complaints, God shows His great love for Israel in providing for their needs. He does the same for us. God is true to His character, even though the Israelites still do not get it, He demonstrates His trustworthiness and love to them in a tangible way.   

Through all this, think about your current life situation. Where are you at? Is it a desert, or a land of plenty? Are you trusting in the goodness and purposefulness of God? These are questions worth exploring, to help you step back to see where you stand. Even reading Exodus 16 is enough to help you examine your situation. 

Enjoy the exploration, and happy Thursday!