At the Red Sea

What does it mean to trust God? Why does it seem like our faith in Him is tested over and over again?

If we were to answer these questions, I’d suggest asking the Israelites who walked out of Egypt. They saw some of God’s miraculous works––I won’t say most miraculous but they were pretty awesome––and still ended up walking 40 years in the desert.

They Did Not Remember…

Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp the significance of Your wondrous works or remember Your many acts of faithful love; instead, they rebelled by the sea––the Red Sea.

Psalms 106:7

What amazes me about this verse is that the people of Israel had just witnessed God fighting for them. He destroyed Egypt all for their sake. Each plague that came was a question to His people: “Do you trust me?” Especially that last one. That last plague was also a lesson in following Him. Then He led them out of Egypt.

It wasn’t a quiet affair, either. They danced and sang their way out of Egypt. They were given riches, clothing, pretty much everything they could need or want for starting over, and they were ushered out of Egypt by their former captors.

Then they faced the Red Sea, they faced the threat of being trapped. They let fear overtake them and forgot all about how God had saved them. Why? Did they doubt God’s intentions?

At this point, they had yet to imprint––to seriously consider the works God had already done––onto their hearts. They had yet to seriously consider God’s reason for the works He had performed for them. All of those miraculous works and their consequent freedom, was all because He loved them.

They Soon Forgot…

Then they believed His promises and sang His praises. They soon forgot His works and would not wait for His counsel.

Psalm 106:12-13

The Israelites were relieved and thankful that they had been saved, but in their rejoicing, in their relief, they forgot how mighty God was. As they stood before the Red Sea, they didn’t ask God what His plan was, they panicked and blamed Him. When they reached the other side, they didn’t truly acknowledge God, just their relief.

When the next obstacle came, they wanted God to act according to their wishes, not His plan. They began to tell God what they wanted instead of asking Him what they should do. It was a cycle that constantly repeated.

God eventually led them into the Promised Land. They conquered their enemies. They took the land that God gave them. All by God’s mighty hand. When all was well…they forgot. They stopped following God’s decrees in their heart. They gave God’s place to the idols of the surrounding nations.

The Red Sea

God was leading them into their Promised Land, they were ready to take the promise over, but at the sight of the Red Sea they stopped believing.

God may be leading us out of the waiting time and into the promise of the calling but we’re faced with one more obstacle. It’s the gateway that leads us straight to freedom, but we don’t see that. We see an impassable obstacle in front of us and the enemy coming behind us to overtake us, so what are we going to do?

We know God has a plan, we’ve spent however long watching God bring miracle after miracle of hurt against our enemies and deliverance for us, so are we going to trust Him to get us through this impassable, insurmountable obstacle? Or are we going to panic and speak like the Israelites saying, “The Lord has abandoned us. He has brought us out here to die!”

This is our last test before we either enter into the promised land, or God circles the wagons and says, “Okay you’re not ready. Let’s try this again.”

How long will we be met with trusting God? How many times will we forget God’s wondrous works? When we’re singing and dancing our way to freedom, will we remember to imprint God’s works for us on our hearts?

Our faith is tested over and over not because of God, but because of us. God will always show up, but will we always trust Him?