Tag: deeper faith

Choosing to Believe in God’s Faithfulness

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 5-6

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 20:1-16

Moses overcame the excuses we read about in Exodus 3-4. He traveled to Egypt and met Aaron in the wilderness at the mountain of God. Together, they went and told the people. “The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshipped” (Exodus 4:31). 

I wonder what Moses thought would happen next. He had spoken to the people, and due to the signs Moses had shown them, they believed that God would deliver his people. Did they think it would happen right away? Did they think that Pharoah would just let them go? What did Moses think? Was he prepared for a resounding no? 

Moses went and told Pharaoh to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh responded, “Who is this God that I should listen to him?” Pharaoh’s response was to make the Israelites labor harder. God had told Moses at the burning bush that “the king of Egypt will not allow to go, even under force from a strong hand” (Exodus 3:19). Even so, it seems like Moses begins to doubt that God will do what he said he will do as he sees Pharaoh make the Israelites’ lives even harder. 

The Israelites begin to complain, saying that it would be better if Moses had never come (Exodus 5:19-21). Moses cries out to God, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23). Those old insecurities pop up again as Moses repeatedly tells God, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me since I speak with faltering lips?” (Exodus 6:12, 30) 

Moses had the promise of God to fulfill his covenant with Abraham. God said he would deliver the people. But, Moses began to doubt as he looked around at his current circumstances. He tells God, ‘You haven’t even rescued your people at all. You’ve made things worse.” 

We often fall prey to a certain kind of prosperity gospel preaching. We believe that if we work for God and do what he asks, we will see big returns right away. No waiting. No fussing. No pain. No problems. 

This is simply not the way God works. When we act in faith, we know that eventually, we will see a return for what we are working towards. However, that return is not promised to be quick or readily apparent. We work for a lifetime, and with the benefit of time and wisdom, we can look back and see the faithfulness of God. It is a fruit that takes decades not days. A fruit that may not be seen until the Kingdom. 

When Moses didn’t see immediate results, he began to doubt God’s intentions, his power, and his goodness. (Even though he was told that Pharaoh would have a hardened heart!) We have also been told that “in this world, we will have trouble” (John 16:33). How often do we doubt God’s intentions, his power, and his goodness in the face of the trouble of the world? 

We can “take heart” because Jesus has overcome the world!

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on remembering God’s story in our lives here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you think Moses expected Pharaoh to let the Israelites go right away? Why or why not? 
  2. How do you persevere in your calling in the midst of setbacks and ‘troubles’? What are some practical ways you can stay encouraged to “keep fighting the good fight?”
  3. What is a past example of God’s faithfulness that you can remember when you face troubles in the future? 

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Leading to a Deeper Faith

Psalm 50, 53, 60, 75

Psalm 14 15 NIV

Some of my really good friends a few years ago started to hold a dinner on Sunday nights after church. This dinner was absolutely awesome back in the day. It was the highlight of my week. I know we are supposed to say church is always the highlight of our week but this was even better than church. Hopefully I am not blaspheming right there. Haha.

The reason why it was so awesome was all of my favorite people gathered under one roof, having a meal together, talking about God, life and just having an awesome time. The way the dinner worked was that everyone would simply bring something with them to the meal. Whether it was a side dish, a plate of cookies or some beverages. The host would normally provide the meat and everyone would chip in to make it an awesome meal.

In the beginning everyone would chip in to help out to clean up. We all sought to do our fair share of the work. Eventually, we started to invite more and more people. The problem that arose was some of these new people didn’t contribute their fair share to the meal. When it’s just one person this isn’t such a big deal but when it’s a larger group of people it is more of an issue. People also stopped contributing as much to clean up. This left the group that was contributing doing more work and for more people. People grew too complacent in not contributing to the meal.

In my life I tend to do the same thing. Humans just have a natural tendency to get complacent in things like our relationships or work. The people of Israel in Psalm 50 had become complacent. They were going through the motions making sacrifices but it had become an emotionless, passionless ritual that lacked the heart behind their actions. Now, dry seasons where you don’t feel God with you are just a part of life. I think these may have even been manufactured or designed to make us want him, commit and submit to him more. I think too many Christians are afraid to admit that they have or are in one of these times. We view these times as negatives and feel like we should never have these moments in our life.

There are natural rhythms to life and at times complacency happens. Sometimes we find that we have become complacent or sometimes its told to us (ugh hate/love that I have people in my life who will do this). I don’t think we need to get hung up on the guilt or shame though. God uses discipline to help his people (Ps. 94.12, Rev. 3.19). He even rebukes those who hate discipline (Ps. 50.17). Discipline is ultimately to our benefit. Discipline is not always suffering the consequences of your actions. Rather, discipline from God is always for your benefit. It is to help you grow. God doesn’t just punish you to hurt you. In the TOTC commentary for Psalm 50 it describes how truth being realized or spoken in our life should be received. “But the truth is meant to heal, not only to convict.” This a great concept. I believe it allows us to look at failures in our lives and cast our future in a positive growth mindset.

This morning in a weird coincidence I was reading about Moses and the people of Israel as they left Egypt and wandered into the desert. They went three whole days into the wilderness with no water. Now this left them empty and physically wanting. Their reaction is not great but I think this incident illustrates something to us. God led them out into the desert, God knew there was no water, God knew that they would need water, and God clearly ended up giving them water because the Bible doesn’t say that they all ran out of water and died. So, what was the point of the whole incident? I’m theorizing but maybe God wanted them to ask him for water. He might have been trying to make them more dependent upon him. Out of this incident in Exodus 17 the Israelites were able to see that God would provide for them. The hopeful reaction from the people was supposed to be trust and faith that God would provide for them. Their period of physical dehydration was supposed to lead them to deeper faith.

Knowing that the difficult or challenging things in our lives may be godly discipline or our complacency could allow for growth, healing or growing in faith and love for God as I wait for him gives me a good perspective for handling these things.

Hope everyone keeps their eyes focused on God and that we can walk with God through whatever circumstances we are going through.

Daniel Wall

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+50%2C53%2C60%2C+75&version=NIV

 

Tomorrow’s reading will be 2 Samuel 10,  1Chronicles 19 and Psalm 20 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan