It's easy to judge the people of Israel.
And yet, when I try to the see events from their point of view, I kind of get it. God pulls them out of the life they know, an oppressive existence to be sure, but predictable. He leads them into adventures, and they have to trust him every minute of the day. And really, since they can't see him, they can't hear him, they are trusting Moses.
They're tired. They're scared.
And they don't know what will happen next. I don't think they really thought about the difficulties they would face if they moved toward the land the Lord promised.
I get it.
As much as I want to live by faith, trusting God, I like to know what's going to happen next. I don't like difficulties. I don't like uncertainty.
This morning when I woke up, I wished I could go backward to my medical transcription days. I can't compare those days to Egypt, but let's just say I knew that wasn't my calling. It was hard work, but I knew what to expect. I was good at it.
God said move, and I moved.
Now? Everyday is hard, and I have no idea what the future holds.
The people? They rebel against Moses. They rebel against God. They forget the things they've seen in the past, they forget his power.
They don't understand his Holiness.
He is not like them.
His ways are not their ways.
He calls them to holiness; he calls them to live for his purposes and not their own.
That means moving across the desert.
And they're scared.
Me? I don't wander across literal deserts. But sometimes I'm scared.
I'm not alone.
Nearly every day I talk to people who feel the same way.
When we decide to follow Jesus, he moves us out of what we know, into new things, uncertain things, journeys that require faith.
He wants us to live for God's purposes.
God is holy.
Nothing matters but his purposes.
We just don't always understand how he will achieve them, where we're going, or when we'll get there.
Father, increase our faith.
1 comment:
I like having you NOT doing medical transcription. I remember many days you working early in the morning or late at night, on weekends and then it always seemed that a doctor had some urgent request and they would call you and we had to get home so you could do the report. I like having a wife that may not understand completely what she is suppose to do but totally knows that she is exactly where God wants her. D
Post a Comment