How do you respond when things don’t turn out as you expected? We all seek to reach our goal or destination with least amount of resistance, but sometimes there are giants along the way that need to be slain.
Discontentment leads to blaming the leaders
All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Numbers 14:2-4
Moses’ life was at risk just like everyone else. As a young man, he gave up the palace to identify with his own people. Later on when God called Him, he risked his life several times by going to Pharaoh repeatedly and asking him to free God’s people. He was subject to the same risks that they were. Moses didn’t know how the journey was going to look like, but that didn’t make him a bad leader.
We have a tendency to think that the leaders should always have the answers to all our problems. In reality, they are following God just like the rest of us. Sometimes, they don’t know what the next step is until the Lord makes it clear to them. God has designed it that way, so we can always look to Him rather than seeking our leaders.
Uncertain Circumstances can lead to unbelief
What is worse is that the Israelites questioned God’s integrity and accused Him of bringing them out of Egypt to die by the sword of the Canaanites. Why would God want to kill them by going through the process of freeing them from the hands of Pharaoh? He sent several plagues to Egypt and parted the Red Sea to rescue His people. The Israelites had allowed their fearful emotions to paint a false picture of God for them.
We can praise God for His faithfulness and at the next uncertain moment, wonder of God’s intentions towards us. In uncertain times, it is imperative to overcome our emotions and believe God’s goodness and kindness toward us. If faith takes us to experiencing God, our faith will grow. If we wait to experience God before we develop faith, we will tend to be at a deficit of faith in uncertain times.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
