Think of the last time you hit a significant snare in this journey called life. When some crazy turn of events hurled at you from out of nowhere.
What now, God?
It’s hard when there’s no back up plan and you never imagined you’d need a back up plan.
But it’s an opportunity to grow our trust in God. That’s not just a cliche, but the truth. It’s not easy to hear and even less fun to implement, but it’s worth it.
In Exodus 10, we follow the Israelites as they await their release from a Pharaoh who wanted to hold them hostage for free labor.
God actually reassured Moses with this statement: “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 10:1-2 (NIV) emphasis mine).
God told him: what would happen.
There was an end date.
Moses would survive it.
He would have children and grandchildren who would hear about it.
God would strengthen Moses’ and the Israelites’ faith through this experience.
As you probably know, there is a lot more to the story. When they finally escaped, God held back the Red Sea and they crossed on dry ground.
God was busy building the faith, trust, and ability to surrender to Him.
The Israelites thought they were in an impossible scenario several times in the story. They were slaves. Pharaoh would never let them go.
They were stuck between a major body of water and Pharaoh’s army coming to force them back into slavery, with nowhere to run. Except God parted the sea and then stood guard blocking Pharaoh’s army while they escaped. He allowed the Egyptians to run onto the Sea floor before being swallowed by water walls releasing from their heavenly hold.
He took them into a wilderness where they learned to depend on Him for their daily needs.
They learned to trust God.
How about us? We may not often need manna to fall from the sky to meet our daily physical needs, but how about emotional or spiritual needs? Do we need God Himself to come down and comfort, grow, and guide us?
If you’re like me, the answer is a resounding yes!
I have learned over decades of walking with Him, that when everything looks lost, He is orchestrating something significant. I can trust He is growing me, guiding me to change a direction in my life, and equipping me with skills I need to develop. No matter how hard the situation, He has never failed me yet.
You know He promises to supply all our needs? We just need to ask. Will you join me in prayer for just that?
Prayer: Dear Lord, When my back is up against the wall, please help me learn to lean into You and trust You more. Help grow my faith so that relying on You to answer is my knee-jerk response. In Jesus’ name, Amen.