Trusting God Is Hard to Do

Day 17: Exodus 14 to 17

After reading this section of text where the Israelites escape through the Red Sea and then wander in the wilderness, I am annoyed with them, yet I can identify with them. They whine and whine and whine. They doubt God and wonder what He is up to. They complain, complain, complain. And as a reader, this gets old. But as a human, I can totally identify with it because I do the same thing with God. When things are going well, I thank him for his gifts and blessings and when things go poorly or when I don't hear his voice at all, I whine and complain, whine and complain. God must be annoyed with the Israelites, and he must get annoyed with me, too.

Why is it so hard to trust God--to trust in God--to take care of us?

I think part of this answer lies with our American culture. We tend to trust ourselves and look out for number one. If things are going well, we give ourselves credit, and when things turn sour, we blame others. We don't stay in relationships long and when it looks like we aren't going to win, we give up. We also are very self-reliant; we don't want to trust anyone but ourselves.

If we apply these principles to our relationship with God, we may be one to only pray when we need something, or to only remember God in the bad times of our lives. We may even blame God when our poor choices have negative consequences. In addition, we are hesitant to trust others because so often we have been let down. And at times it seems that God has let us down, too, so we are hesitant to trust God.

I think another part has to do with our own insecurity. Would God really let this happen to us? I thought he wanted only what is good for me.

I also think that trusting God is hard because we don't know where trusting him might take us. We may be forced to give up things to which we are attached but that may not be good for us. Or we may be called out of our comfort zones to do things like giving up your possessions, your job security, or your home to move somewhere else.

Trusting God is hard.

But He shows us again and again that He will provide for us. The provision may not always look like we want it to be, but he does take care of us. He will take care of us. I can trust that; you can, too.

Reaping and Sewing

Day 8: Genesis 29-31

Reading the biblical narrative in chronological order like I’m doing presents an interesting aspect of the text: it allows you to look at the text in relation to other things that have happened. I’ve just now read the story of Jacob and Laban and how Laban deceives Jacob by giving him Leah to marry rather than Rachel, the one Jacob wanted. I’ve always read this to view Laban as such an evil person, especially in relation to Jacob who was wronged. But reading this story so soon after reading the story of Jacob deceiving Esau makes me view it a little differently. What Laban does to Jacob is no different from what Jacob had done to Esau. The difference is that this time Jacob is on the receiving end of the deceit. Now he knows what Esau must have felt like. Maybe working for Laban for 17 years is the penance that Jacob has to pay for sinning against his father.

God does seem to teach us lessons in interesting ways. In this instance, Jacob reaped what he sewed.

And oftentimes, I do, too. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, though, when I’m wronged, maybe I should consider that the situation is a result of my own actions, my own behavior. Yikes. That’s not exactly politically correct, is it? To say that you get what you deserve. To say that I get what I deserve. It’s more kosher to cast blame than to take responsibility for one’s actions. Maybe I should start reflecting more on how my choices and my behavior influence what happens to me, just like they happened to Jacob.