Still learning about faith.
This morning I read Exodus 14. There’s so much to get from this chapter, but what stood out at me this morning was how much the Israelites doubted God at the point of the Red Sea. To familiarize you with the events leading up to the Red Sea, here’s a quick recap:
Pharaoh had let the people go after God plagued him enough to soften his heart. But then God hardened his heart again. So Pharaoh decided that letting Israel go was a mistake (He would have to pay far more than minimum wage if he employed his own people). So he decided that He should pursue Israel and place them in bondage again. The Israelites are at a stand still, in front of the Red Sea, wondering “how are we gonna get over to the other side of this?”. And then they turn around and see Pharaoh’s army approaching. They start to complain.
Good bible knowledge will tell you that this wasn’t the first time that Israel complained to God. But why? I mean, God had done so much for them before. Why would they not trust Him? It got to a point where their unbelief just ticked God off! Numbers 14: 11 records this:
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Through our faith walk, there will be a lot of ‘Red Seas’ that come up. And it is very ‘human’ to say “How the heck am I going to get through this?” You may be pressed not only with the obstacles in front, but also squeezed in with obstacles all around. What do you do when your faith is challenged?
As I was reading Numbers 14:11, the phrase “for all the signs I have shown you” stood out. When 
your faith is being questioned and threatened, you’ve got to remember. Now I know that as believers we confess Phil 4:13 a lot, but that scripture has to do with forgetting the ills that you feel the world has done. When faith is threatened, you need to go down memory lane and remember all that God has done for you. The Israelites didn’t do this. Their unbelief grew by the minute, because all they kept doing was complaining to God and Moses (remember that what you confess can either fuel faith or fear). It didn’t even matter that they had set up pillars of God’s goodness throughout their history. They just complained themselves into unbelief.
Take a trip down GOD’s memory lane of your life. Do you remember when…
- You thought that you wouldn’t be able to afford the rent or the mortgage, but He provided it?
- You thought that you wouldn’t be able to pay your tuition, but He sent an angel to take care of it?
- You thought that the separation of you and the person you loved would drive you crazy, but He kept your sanity?
- You thought your relationship was over, but He restored it?
- You felt like the business wouldn’t work, but he kept it through a down economy?
- You wondered if you’d ever get a job, but He got you one?
- You thought that the disease would consume you, but yet you still lived to see another day…and another day and ….?
- You had no food in your fridge and some ramen noodles in the cupboard, but God sent someone to bless you with groceries?
I could go on. But take a few minutes if you will, and remember the times that God showed up for you. Even the times when the situation didn’t look positive, remember how He made it work for your good. Make a list of them and put the list somewhere you can see it everyday (I keep mine in my bible as a bookmark). If He has been God for you all through those times, what about now?
Let your remember when’s strengthen your faith.
