MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Exodus 14:10-12
Joshua 24:5-7

“… Let us alone, that
we may serve the Egyptians? …”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DISTRUST GOD

When the children of Israel saw Pharaoh’s fearsome army of horsemen and 600 elite chariots advancing towards them, they were very frightened. They cried out to the LORD. But they also wickedly accused Moses for taking them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. They reminded Moses that they had told him before to leave them alone in Egypt. They said they would rather have continued as the Egyptians’ slaves than die in this wilderness.

When we distrust God, fear takes over. Did not they go out “with an high hand” (Exod 14:8), meaning with confidence and victory? Have they not witnessed the LORD’s miraculous protection over them while the Egyptians suffered in the plagues? The reason we fear is that we focus on the present situation and its difficulties rather than remember God’s power and faithfulness. The LORD reminded the children of Israel (and told them to remind their children too) about His ability to deliver. When we distrust God’s leading, we will panic at the first sign of trouble. We will want to give up and go back to the old life, forgetting the bondage that held us. We might even think it would have been better not to follow and obey our LORD. We will complain and whine. We will blame and accuse those whose godly counsel we have followed. We may cry to the LORD, but it will not be a cry for help that we may persevere, only a cry to remove all troubles because we do not like them. We will begin to think that it would have been better not to have put the LORD first in our studies, work, family, and even church. We will think in our hearts, “Look where obeying God has led us and the great troubles that loom ahead because of it.” We will think it is not worth following the LORD. We soon forget the sweetness of life with the close presence of our LORD, and focus instead on temporary and even apparent troubles.

THOUGHT: Am I quick to forget God’s power when I face difficulties?
PRAYER: O LORD, help me to remember that Thou art able to do exceedingly abundantly more than I can imagine.