Trust Me.
That was the message God gave us. Trust Me.
Anything else, God?
*Crickets
I mean, God I am trusting you. I took this first step in faith. It wasn't easy. Perhaps you would like to expound further upon what you want me to do, to learn, to experience?
Nope. Just. Trust. Me.
I'm learning that asking to have more faith or trust in God is akin to asking for more patience. There's only one way to get it, and it's going to take time.
So while I am waiting, I have been reading about Moses and the Israelites in the book of Exodus. I knew this would give me both good and bad examples of how to learn to trust in God.
The Bad Example: The Israelites
In Exodus 19, we learn that their trek from Egypt to Mount Sinai had taken 'exactly two months.' Have you ever considered some of the timeline of the Israelites and their transition from Egypt to the Promised Land? Yeah, we're familiar with the fact that it ended up taking 40 years, due to their rebellion, but consider some of their actions in response to what they saw from God.
Exactly two months ago, they experienced the ten plagues. We walk around talking about this being a hot summer or a cold winter and some of us remember things like that from year to year. Had we experienced even one of the plagues, I would think that might be something that would be fresh on our minds for two months, at least.
In that same two month period, the Israelites also experienced the crossing of the Red Sea, the crushing of Pharaoh's army (in that same sea), quail being hand delivered, manna appearing on a daily basis, and (oh yeah) God leading them in a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.
They complained the entire time and continually questioned whether God was trying to kill them. Don't even get me started on what will happen when Moses leaves them alone for a few moments so he can meet with God. Speaking of Moses...
The Good Example: Moses
I know Moses isn't perfect, but if God was looking for someone who would be patient (most of the time), He found a winner in Moses.
Later in Exodus 19, God calls Moses up the mountain. Anyone who hikes or climbs mountains will tell you Moses doesn't get enough credit for this. We read Moses climbed the mountain as if it was just as quick and simple as pushing for a floor on an elevator. Mount Sinai was over 7,400 feet. This took some time and effort.
When Moses gets to the top, God meets Him and tells him to go back down to remind the Israelites to stay back from the mountain. Because God couldn't have given Moses that message at the base of the mountain?
Moses questions, but ultimately obeys and climbs back down the mountain. A few chapters later, God once again invites Moses to come up the mountain. We read in Exodus 24:15-18 that God covers the mountain in a cloud, which I imagine is the God-equivalent of closing an office door so you can have a private meeting.
But it says God didn't call out to Moses until he had been there seven days! Moses climbs the mountain (again!) and waits an entire week before God starts the meeting. Had this been a phone call, I might have hung up and told myself that they will call back if it's important.
Moses was content to wait on the voice of God.
Training a Toddler
If you parent a toddler, you no doubt find yourself repeating the same things over and over. Because that's what it takes to train a toddler.
Before we started this adventure, I prayed that God would make His will clear, because I wanted to be sure where He was leading us and what He was teaching us. So now when I continue to hear the one message, Trust Me, I guess I can't complain.
Because that's how you train a child.
That was the message God gave us. Trust Me.
Anything else, God?
*Crickets
I mean, God I am trusting you. I took this first step in faith. It wasn't easy. Perhaps you would like to expound further upon what you want me to do, to learn, to experience?
Nope. Just. Trust. Me.
I'm learning that asking to have more faith or trust in God is akin to asking for more patience. There's only one way to get it, and it's going to take time.
So while I am waiting, I have been reading about Moses and the Israelites in the book of Exodus. I knew this would give me both good and bad examples of how to learn to trust in God.
The Bad Example: The Israelites
In Exodus 19, we learn that their trek from Egypt to Mount Sinai had taken 'exactly two months.' Have you ever considered some of the timeline of the Israelites and their transition from Egypt to the Promised Land? Yeah, we're familiar with the fact that it ended up taking 40 years, due to their rebellion, but consider some of their actions in response to what they saw from God.
Exactly two months ago, they experienced the ten plagues. We walk around talking about this being a hot summer or a cold winter and some of us remember things like that from year to year. Had we experienced even one of the plagues, I would think that might be something that would be fresh on our minds for two months, at least.
In that same two month period, the Israelites also experienced the crossing of the Red Sea, the crushing of Pharaoh's army (in that same sea), quail being hand delivered, manna appearing on a daily basis, and (oh yeah) God leading them in a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.
They complained the entire time and continually questioned whether God was trying to kill them. Don't even get me started on what will happen when Moses leaves them alone for a few moments so he can meet with God. Speaking of Moses...
The Good Example: Moses
I know Moses isn't perfect, but if God was looking for someone who would be patient (most of the time), He found a winner in Moses.
Later in Exodus 19, God calls Moses up the mountain. Anyone who hikes or climbs mountains will tell you Moses doesn't get enough credit for this. We read Moses climbed the mountain as if it was just as quick and simple as pushing for a floor on an elevator. Mount Sinai was over 7,400 feet. This took some time and effort.
When Moses gets to the top, God meets Him and tells him to go back down to remind the Israelites to stay back from the mountain. Because God couldn't have given Moses that message at the base of the mountain?
Moses questions, but ultimately obeys and climbs back down the mountain. A few chapters later, God once again invites Moses to come up the mountain. We read in Exodus 24:15-18 that God covers the mountain in a cloud, which I imagine is the God-equivalent of closing an office door so you can have a private meeting.
But it says God didn't call out to Moses until he had been there seven days! Moses climbs the mountain (again!) and waits an entire week before God starts the meeting. Had this been a phone call, I might have hung up and told myself that they will call back if it's important.
Moses was content to wait on the voice of God.
Training a Toddler
If you parent a toddler, you no doubt find yourself repeating the same things over and over. Because that's what it takes to train a toddler.
Before we started this adventure, I prayed that God would make His will clear, because I wanted to be sure where He was leading us and what He was teaching us. So now when I continue to hear the one message, Trust Me, I guess I can't complain.
Because that's how you train a child.
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