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Respite For the Weary
My past three ABC posts include: Name above all Names, Offer help Often, and Prince of Peace Please Come. Today, it's Quiet my Questioning heart.
Quiet my Questioning heart? Synopsis Exodus 15:23-16:1-17.
Long ago, Moses led the Israelite nation out of slavery from Egypt. They survived the ten plagues and made a grand exit, straight through the parted Red Sea. These people saw and experienced God's powerful work on their behalf. Three days into their new freedom journey, however, they began to grumble due to lack of water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter…So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" Likewise, two weeks later, they grumbled again, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you (Moses) have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." The Israelite nation could not trust the faithfulness of God due to their unquieted questioning hearts. In spite of their grumbling, the Lord provided food and water daily for them during the disciplining forty years in the desert.
Quiet my Questioning heart! Synopsis of Genesis 37, 39, 50:20.
If only these Israelites had remembered the story of their great ancestor Joseph. As a young man, he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers; then later, once in Egypt, he was thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit. For a decade, he had reason to cry out often, "Lord, quiet my questioning heart!" In His time and in His way, God did send His peace and provision as Joseph continued to put his trust in the Lord's direction. He eventually was released from prison and rose to the position of second in command in Egypt. Joseph continued to walk with the Lord; he even gave forgiveness to his brothers, saying to them, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish now what is being done…".
When I look at these two stories, here are a few questions:
Do I tend to grumble and complain when things don't go my way?
Do I trust God with ALL my heart in times of uncertainty?
What practical ways can I trust him more in a difficult situation or unknown path?
In these stories, I see both parties questioning God. Really, I think God is fine with our questions. Even Jesus questioned His Father on the cross. What God is after is the attitude of our hearts. Do the questions we raise to Him come from a place of angry mistrust, or are they a plea for His help in the midst of our diverse circumstances? He must discipline the former, but He honors the latter. Let's bring our BIG questions to the Lord, and ask Him to quiet us in whatever answer He chooses to give, all the while remembering, He is ALWAYS working for our ultimate good.
Will you trust Him?
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; O Lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy…I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. Psalm 130:1-2, 5
(Jesus said to Saul), "Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:16-18
Dear Lord,
Convict us to "get up and stand on our feet" for the sake of your name. Our mission is the same as Paul's, just in a different day: "to turn (those who are lost) from darkness to light." Give us a bold desire to walk forward with your good news. Amen.