“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.”  Isaiah 26:3

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. Exodus 16:4

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

A God We Don’t Fully Trust

Why second guess the Lord?
Are His blessings our concern?
When His rain falls on the wicked
Is their worthiness ours to discern?

Who are we to question the Lord?
Do we think His thoughts are our thoughts?
Can we stop the sun, part the sea,
Create even one miracle He’s brought?

Why would we question God’s grace?
Have a say in who He chooses to bless?
If He gives the whole world to others
Does that mean that He gives us less?

Who are we to question God’s choice?
Or why would we think that we can?
For God gives and God takes away
According to His pleasure and plan.

Why would we question God’s laws?
And argue with what He decrees?
Have we somehow convinced ourselves,
That we can see all that He sees?

Somehow we better learn to accept,
That God knows what’s best for us.
For we will never submit our lives
To a God we don’t fully trust.
©Linda Troxell 03/06/20

Do you fully trust the Lord? I wonder if anyone other than Jesus has ever fully trusted Him.  My guess would a big no. Despite what I may say at times, and despite what I wish was true, I know I don’t fully trust God. I know because if I did I would do everything He asks of me. If I did I would spend more time in prayer and in praise than in worry. “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

I think it is against the nature of man to fully trust anyone but ourselves; the ones we should probably trust the least. We are too often ruled by emotion and selfish and self-serving motives to make wise and Godly decisions. 

Because we know this about ourselves we project it onto others and we believe it about them as well. And that may not be a bad thing. Because chances are pretty good that our peers operate in the same manner.

But God is not a human. He is not one of our peers; He is peerless. Whatever we might believe about the trustworthiness of our fellow humans, we can be sure God is different.

As Christians, we hear over and over “Trust God”, “God is trustworthy” and “We can always trust God”. But if this is true, why do so many people, even Christian people, have a difficult time believing it? Maybe the problem is in our definition of trustworthy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.-Psalm 28:7  

When you hear that God is trustworthy, or that you can trust God, what does that mean to you? I think for far too many of us who are still catering to our flesh, meaning most of us, it means that God will protect us from all hard times and all pain. And that He will give us everything we want.

It is my first inclination to say I’m not like that. It’s probably yours too. I know that I will have trouble in life. Jesus even said so in the Bible.  So, thinking that trusting God means having no troubles would be crazy, right? But still, when I think it through I know that sometimes that is my expectation. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

Well, if that is our definition of God’s trustworthiness, then I’d say we are living the exact opposite of that. We are all struggling through a time that none of us was prepared for and none of us planned for. Certainly none of us asked for this season. No one wants to live in a season when the only thing we know is that we know nothing… and have no control.

The season we are in makes no sense. Too many of us are walking through life day after day filled with the anxiety of not knowing what the next day will hold, or the next week, or the next year, for that matter. Too many of us are waking up each day unsure of what day it is. I know I am. And I know I’m not alone. 

So, how can we reconcile the craziness in which we are living with the trustworthiness of God? When I was thinking about how I wanted to write this, I heard what we are experiencing compared to the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness. They are similar in that neither of us saw what was coming, nor were we prepared for it. And both situations changed the way we live overnight. 

I wondered if we might learn something about our situation from the Israelite’s wilderness experience. So I took a closer look at what should have been a short walk from slavery to the Promised Land but became a 40 year saga in the desert. If we can learn something to end this, let’s do it sooner rather than later.

The Israelites lived through and we are now living through, a time in which we don’t understand what is happening, why it is happening, or how long it will last. We only know that we cannot control it.

Day by day the Israelites, like us, only knew that their situation and circumstances were changing daily and that they probably would continue to change day after day.

In this kind of situation we constantly feel we have no control over our own lives. We are afraid that we cannot protect ourselves or our loved ones. This causes uncertainty and confusion. Uncertainty and confusion are fertile breeding grounds for fear, anxiety, and depression.

They are times when we start to question God. Perhaps, for some of us, a cause to lose our faith. It was no different for the Israelites. In fact, it was their rebellion that caused their journey to the Promised Land to take 40 years.

When God’s people came to the southern border of Canaan, Kadesh Barnea, they were almost there. God told Moses to send out spies to survey the land of Canaan. The spies came back and gave a positive report about the resources but were not as positive about the inhabitants, claiming that they were formidable giants.

This caused the Israelites great fear, so much so that they refused to go on. They were afraid of the fight that claiming the land would require and they did not trust God to fight for them as He had in Egypt. So they elected a new leader to take them back to Egypt. Their fear led to disobedience, which let to severe punishment.

God was angry with the Israelites when they refused to go on. He had dealt with their disobedience from the beginning and for Him, enough was enough. He dealt with them severely and forbade any one of them to go into this land He had promised to their ancestors. “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,” Deuteronomy 1:35

And so, they were banned from the Promised Land until the present generation of sinners passed away. Some say that they wandered the desert and ultimately came back to Kadesh Barnea 40 years later. And some say they camped right there on the border for 40 years. Either way they suffered great hardships in that time. Some are similar to the hardships we are encountering in what might be considered our wilderness.

We are watching people die every day. Some of us have watched loved ones die. And others are afraid their loved ones may die. The Israelites watched their friends and loved ones die too.

We both have endured the pain that comes with the inability to provide proper burials for our loved ones according to our customs and religious beliefs.

We are living in a time when our leaders seem to know nothing more than those they are supposed to be leading. And we aren’t sure we can trust them. The Israelite’s time in the wilderness was similar in that Moses knew nothing but what God decided to tell him, piece by piece, in His own time. And the Israelites, even after all that Moses had done for them, did not trust him.  

Both of our situations have caused us to experience things we’ve never experienced before and endure things we’ve never had to endure. We have never had to spend all of our days cooped up in our house alone but for those who live with us. if, indeed, anyone does,

The Israelites had never had to worry about food before, it was always supplied by their masters. We have never endured wearing a mask when we go out of our houses. The Israelites had never endured walking day and night, day after day.

Many in our country, indeed, many in the world, are angry about the way in which our president is dealing with this pandemic. And the Israelites were angry with how Moses handled leading them out of Egypt and into a Promised Land that never seemed to appear.

Add that distrust to the stress and fear that comes with the unknown, and it’s no wonder there is complaining and rebellion. As humans, whenever we feel afraid and unsafe we look for someone to blame and we act out on our fear.

The Israelites engaged in many rebellions against God. Once, they insisted that Aaron fashion a golden calf for them to worship because they thought Moses had been too long on the mountain with God.

In our wilderness time, we see many people rebel against the shelter in place orders and we are seeing armed protesters at the statehouse doors. And he (Aaron) received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” Exodus 32:4

The Israelites had little time to prepare for their wilderness journey. So, in addition to their increasing distrust, they were worried about resources. Food and water were scarce for the Israelites in the desert. And they didn’t trust that God would continue to provide for them.

We certainly didn’t see this season coming or prepare for it either. For the most part our food and water aren’t scarce yet. But we certainly have fears they may become scarce. So we see needless hoarding without regard for our neighbors.

Comparing our situation now to the Israelite’s in the wilderness, there are several similarities. So, does that mean anything? What can we learn, if anything, from those who walked this path before us? Can their experience help us to be less uncertain? Can it help us to better endure this journey that we are forced to take? Or to end it sooner?

Let’s look first at what God did with and for His people in the time between leaving Egypt and coming to the border of Canaan. Many say that the Israelite’s journey to the southern border took about 2 years. It seems it could have taken less time if God had taken the direct route. So why didn’t He?

The Israelites that God was bringing out of Egypt had been born and raised slaves. They weren’t happy with the arrangement, but they had been cared for fairly well. There was always plenty of food and water and they had shelter at all times. They had come to expect a certain level of comfort.

As slaves, they had never been out of Egypt. They had no idea what the Promised Land was and no knowledge of God’s promise to give them a land of their own. And even if they had known of the Promised Land called Canaan, they had no idea where Canaan was or how to get there, nor did Moses. He knew only that he had to follow God.   

God couldn’t lead them by the direct route because that would have taken them through Philistine country where they would have had to battle. The Israelites, former slaves, didn’t know how to battle. They knew nothing about fighting. If the first thing that awaited them after the Red Sea was a battle, they would have wanted to go back to Egypt. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” –Exodus 213:17

As slaves, they had been completely dependent on their masters for everything. And while they might have thought they didn’t like it, in fact, they had become at the very least complacent. God wanted them to transfer that dependence on to Him for all of their needs.

So, God decided to use the time spent walking to the Promised Land as a time to teach His people how to be free. They needed to learn how to stop thinking like slaves and start living as free people dependent only on God for their survival.

In their wilderness time God provided everything the Israelites needed to survive. He led them by a Pillar of Cloud in the day and Pillar of fire at night. And for sustenance He provided manna that fell from heaven.  

And God provided water in the desert too. When they came upon a well that had gone sour He made the water sweet again. When there was no water, He empowered Moses to strike a stone and water poured out. There was no need God did not meet for them yet still, they complained about what they didn’t have.

By providing for all of their daily needs, God wanted them to recognize that He would always provide for them. To learn that they had a choice about where they put thier focus. He wanted them to focus on their gratitude for what He provided, rather than thier bitterness about what they had left behind.

The manna God provided for the Israelites was not just nourishment. It was also a tool He used to teach them. Using the restrictions He mandated for how they could collect the manna, God taught the Israelites lessons we might want to consider in our wilderness.

They had to collect it first thing in the morning because it melted away as the day moved on. This taught them that when they began their day with God and were thankful for His provision, their whole day went well. And if they did not start their day with Him, the rest of the day would not go so well. Especially at meal time when they would go hungry. 

He allowed them to collect only enough each day to feed their household for 24 hours and no more. Gathering only what they needed for one day, taught them how to discern need from greed.

God hoped they would realize there was no need to miss the joy of today worrying about tomorrow. For He could be counted on to supply what they needed every day. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. Exodus 16:4

However, God decreed that they were to gather twice their usual amount on the day before Sabbath because on Sabbath there would be no provision. It would be strictly a day of rest.On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” Exodus 16:5.

In giving no provision on the Sabbath, God taught His people that Sabbath was serious in His eyes. It also sent the message to the Israelites that He expected them to observe it seriously.

When we look at the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness, it’s seems obvious that God used that time to teach them some important lessons. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that there are parallel lessons we can learn in our time of wilderness.

I don’t know if those lessons are why we are experiencing this but there are lessons all the same. So let’s look at what God might want us to learn from the wilderness and let’s pray we don’t vex God and spend the next 40 years learning.

This wilderness is a perfect time to renew our appreciation and our thanksgiving of God’s goodness in the midst of uncertainty. It can show us that God is trustworthy and He can be trusted to meet all of our needs. Our wants? Well that was never a promise.  And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19     

Maybe the wilderness is a time God has given us, or perhaps a time He has forced on us, to examine and learn the difference between our need and our greed. This was a major lesson for the Israelites in their wilderness experience.

So, I think it is safe to say that God wants us to learn the difference as well. I wonder what He thinks as He watches some of us buy case after cases of toilet paper without a thought for the needs of our neighbors?

In the wilderness, God taught His people how to live one day at a time with gratitude for each day. I think we can assume that God is teaching us the same. He wants us to know that we really don’t need to know what’s going to happen tomorrow to appreciate and be thankful for the blessings of today.

Like the Israelites, God likely wants for us to learn not to miss the joy of today by worrying about what tomorrow might bring. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

These are important lesson, of course. But I think there is more God wants us to learn. And perhaps this is the time He has provided for us to learn it.

All of us are asking God some kind of why question as our experience wears on. Most of us probably have asked more than one. Why is this happening to us? Why are we shut in our houses and why is everything we know turned upside down? While we, the masses, are asking God our myriad questions, He is asking us just one. “Do you trust me?” 

Moses followed God’s directions faithfully. He contended with an immature, self-absorbed, disobedient group of people for whom God held him responsible. What he went through and what he put up with would have tried the patience of any saint.

Moses trusted God for many things you or I probably could not have. He seemed to be a very obedient servant of God. But ultimately, Moses lost the right to enter the Promised Land for not trusting God.

Our distrust of God can be shown in more than one way. It can be that we don’t trust God to do what He says He will do. Or it can be that we don’t trust that God can do what He says He will do.

You may think you aren’t guilty of either. But if you have not or cannot trust God to provide for your every need every day of your life, you are guilty of one or the other. 

All of us have had or will have a time in our life when our fear outweighs our faith. A time when we just can’t muster what it takes to believe God can or believe God will do what we need Him to do. When this happens we are at a crossroads and we have to choose a way to go.

Will we just give up and admit to ourselves and to the world that we really don’t, and probably never did, trust God? Or will we make the decision to surrender our fear to our faith and do whatever it takes to trust Him? Trust is often a decision. A decision that we might have to make a thousand times or more each day. But a decision just the same.

For many of us, this wilderness time that we don’t understand and we can’t see how we will escape, is our crossroads. God is asking us the question, “Do you trust Me?” And we have to make a decision.

Because, what God ultimately wants is for us to put our lives in His hands. To trust Him enough to allow Him to guide us through each and every day. He wants us to surrender to Him, to submit to Him, to obey Him in everything. And we will never submit our lives to a God we don’t fully trust.

Let’s Pray
God, we know that in order to commit to you fully we first must trust you fully. You know, because you know every part of us, that we have a very difficult time fully trusting anyone or anything. We don’t want to keep struggling with this inability to trust you. What we desire is to surrender our will to you so that we can walk in step with your will for us. And it all comes back to fully trusting you. We understand that trust, like love, is a decision we have to make. And we know that to follow our hearts instead of your Word, will give the enemy a foothold from which he can attack us. Lord, we ask you to help us to make the decision to trust you. We know that starts with our decision to spend more time with you and to know you more fully. We know that knowing you begins with opening our hearts and mind to you regularly, and regularly seeking to know your heart mind. So, Lord, we ask that you help us to make that commitment and to keep it. We understand that you have possibly created a wilderness time so that we can spend more time with you. Time in which we can grow to believe that you are completely trustworthy. Lord, help us, in this wilderness time to spend more time getting to know you and your will for us. Please help us to feel in our hearts and know in our minds that you are the only one we should trust. And then help us to act on that knowledge. We thank you Lord for loving us and being so patient with us in every way. 
We pray this in the holy name of Jesus, Amen!

Points for Pondering and for Prayer
Or
Perhap For Putting Pen to Paper

Do you trust the Lord completely?         
How do you know if you do or if you don’t?

If you don’t, what stands in your way of complete trust?
If you don’t, has not trusting Him fully, been a stumbling block for you in your Christian walk?

Write a paragraph about the problems you have faced from not trusting the Lord fully.

Do you think getting to know the Lord better will help you to trust Him more fully? Why or why not?

If you think getting to know Him better will help you to trust Him, what is your plan to get to know Him better?