God Is Constant
Exodus 16:11-12
The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of
the Israelites.
Tell them, ‘At
twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread.
Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
The story of
the Israelites has been on my mind for a few days, and I have come to
understand the lesson God was teaching them.
He provided their most basic needs of food and water, but the far
greater purpose of that provision was to teach them that their whole lives should
be a continuous dependency on Him. When
the Israelites fled from Egypt, things changed for them. What they knew to be constant was taken away,
and they had to face the uncertainty of the future and realize their
dependencies. We are like them now in many ways. We’re facing the same challenges of
uncertainty. What we knew to be routine
and constant last week is not this week, and we are faced with challenges we
did not see coming…school closings, digital learning, social distancing,
working from home, limited food at our grocery stores, and people out of work.
I imagine we
feel a bit like the Israelites did and maybe that is what drew me to this story
in Scripture. I have reread the account
of the Exodus from Egypt and the wandering in the wilderness, and I have
thought how the people must have been driven by thoughts of uncertainty, fear,
and anger. Any of these emotions can
easily drive people apart, but they didn’t.
The reason why is when you read the story you see signs of God all
along, guiding and providing for them.
He led them by pillars of cloud and fire during the day and night, He
provided quail and manna for food, water from a rock, He separated the sea for
them to escape the Egyptians. In the
middle of their change and uncertainty, He remained constant, faithful to His
people to provide all they needed to survive.
The same is
true of God today. Because this has
occurred doesn’t mean He has abandoned us or forsaken us. Quite the opposite is true. He is still present, providing and loving
us. Just as He knew the Israelites would
be in the wilderness, He knew this would happen now, and He has a plan. Just as the Israelites cried out to God, we
need to as well. He is still sovereign,
He will never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), He will provide for our
needs (Philippians 4:19). But in our
uncertainty, are we forgetting these things of Him are still true and
present? Are we forgetting the lesson He
taught us through the Israelites to be continuously dependent on Him?
In the midst
of this I see no other way other than depending on Him. Our lives look different right now and that
brings doubt, worry and panic, but God is the opposite of that. He says “do not fear”, and “do not worry”
(Matthew 6:31-34). God knows of our
needs and will provide them to those that seek His kingdom and His
righteousness first. That means to turn
to God first and seek His help. Learn to depend more on Him to fill you with
confidence in His plan. The more we are
dependent on God, the more peace we have and the more we can continue day by
day with the confidence He is in control.
If you feel you are consumed with the uncertainty of these times, reach
out to your Godly friends and family and ask where they see God in this. Rather than watching the news nonstop, be the
hands and feet of Christ and help those that need help, pray for the health of
all, read and study scripture but most of all, stop and spend time with God and
allow Him to show you He is in control.
Nothing has
changed about God. He is still as
loving, powerful, and sovereign as He was last week. In the craziness of such rapid change,
wouldn’t a constant be a welcome comfort?
Turn to Him, just as you always have.
Do not leave Him out by being consumed with a worldly circumstance, but
rather be consumed by Him through a worldly circumstance.
Grace and
Peace
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