Have you seen the movie 50 First Dates? Last year, as I finally gained the stamina to read through the Old Testament, I kept thinking that the nation of Israel was so much like the character ten-second Tom. For those of you unfamiliar, Tom struggles with amnesia and his memory resets every ten seconds. As I read through the story of the Israelites' escape from Egypt, I kept getting so frustrated by Israel’s forgetfulness. Throughout the Old Testament the Israelites are stuck in this ongoing cycle of sin, repentance, doubt, sin, repentance, doubt and it seems to never stop. They keep turning from God in doubt, feeling guilty about it, running toward God in awe, and then turning from God as soon as the doubt creeps back.
After God had opened the Red Sea for the Israelites with Moses’ staff, He released the sea and washed away Pharaoh’s army. Exodus 14 verse 31 says: “When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him.” It’s easy to understand the Israelites’ awe here. I imagine we all would be amazed by the mighty ability of God if we’d just walked on dry ground at the bottom of a sea and witnessed God wipe out our enemies directly before us. However, the Israelites’ awe doesn’t last long. On the very next page the Israelites are hungry, and they begin doubting God’s ability to provide for them.
Chapter 16 verse 3 says, “‘If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,’ they moaned. ‘There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.’” Suddenly their rescue from captivity and slavery in Egypt became a death sentence to them. All of the sudden, they either forgot or no longer cared about the tremendous miracle of delivering them through the Red Sea. They didn’t believe they were walking to freedom any longer. They didn’t believe, or forgot, that God provided a way when they needed one. Now they believed they were forgotten and left to suffer to death. They blamed their misery on God. As I read that, I thought, how could they have forgotten? I thought to myself, if I were in that position I would’ve remembered walking on dry ground in the middle of the sea and I wouldn’t have lost faith so quickly. Then, I thought better. That is me. I am exactly like the Israelites. The Israelites are a perfect picture of our own challenges to believe in God’s faithfulness. We justify our doubts with statements like, “well if God had done something as miraculous as splitting the sea, or curing disease, then of course I’d believe in Him. I challenge that thinking though, would you actually? How many times do we thank God for His provision and guidance only to doubt Him again the next challenge we face? The Israelites prove again and again that no matter the size of the miracle, doubt still gets the victory if we give power to our doubts. We start to get hungry; our souls begin to recognize this craving, this need, and we’re quick to blame God’s supposed forgetfulness. We start to believe that he’s forsaken us.
So, what did God do? Verse 4 says, “then the Lord said to Moses, ‘look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as the need for that day.’” The Lord may not have offered provisions in the way the Israelites were familiar with, like entire pots of meat, but He gave them what they needed. Don’t mistake God’s measured, intentional care for you as less sufficient simply because we cannot see the familiar “pot of meat" in front of us. The Israelites had to have faith and trust that God was going to deliver food the next day when they’d eaten all their food for today. Don’t let the moment things get difficult or uncertain cause you to question God’s care for you. God’s character does not change. He is constant. Why would He deliver Israel from Egypt through the sea only to let them die in the wilderness?
It’s easy to see where the Israelites lacked faith and disassociate our own lives from their story. But don’t be fooled, we are all the Israelites. We’re the forgetful, scared, and doubting children of God. I can look at a story of the Israelites and criticize their lack of trust in God because I’m reading the full story. I get to see the big picture when they didn’t. I’m not sitting in that moment, hungry and scared like they were. I knew they got to the promised land. So I have to ask myself, where do I fail to trust God because I don’t see the full picture? In what areas of my life am I discontent having to trust I have enough for each day? I honestly believe God provides for us as we need it – not as we want it – to remind us who holds the real power. It isn’t in a malicious you don't get control way, but in a loving you don’t have to control way. When the Lord’s prayer asks God to “give us this day our daily bread” it means we live on a daily basis. We don’t always get enough bread for a week in one day. We don’t always get a monthly stock to pull from. The problem we have with daily bread is that it makes us uncomfortable. How do we know we’ll get more tomorrow? A present focused mindset is a scary one simply because it doesn’t feel like we have any control. But, rest assured we can trust our God. He is a mighty miracle worker and He will not forsake us.
Egypt may have meant predictability for the Israelites, but it also meant slavery. Don’t substitute your discomfort in the wilderness for the comfort of slavery. You may not have entire pots of meat sitting before you in the wilderness, but you have enough because God is enough. The wilderness may bring uncertainty and unpredictability, but those very things are crucial on the walk to freedom. I urge you, trust in God’s faithfulness. He will not fail you. I know it’s tempting to run back to Egypt. I know comfort feels safer, but the truth is comfort is only a false sense of security, comfort is slavery. Don’t miss freedom for fear. Don’t forget, God split the sea for his people. He’ll split yours for you, too.
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