As some of you may know, I’ve been writing a book for about 8 months and it’s caused me to begin to think about my spiritual life and assess where I need to grow. I’ve deeply studied the heroes of faith and desire their steadfastness for my own life.  I want to have the faith that I read about in the Bible, like Moses, who walked closely with God and saw miracles in the face of adversity.  One example comes to mind; when the children of Israel are at the Red Sea with water in front of them and the Egyptians coming towards them in the distance.  In the natural, they were trapped between water and their ever- approaching enemy and they panicked. 

Exodus 14:11 tells us that they began to accuse Moses by saying, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt saying, “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.””

If I had been Moses, what would my response have been to a seemingly ungrateful and scared group of people, who, according to previous chapters, did not say anything like that, unless, of course, the Bible just doesn’t mention it.  I’m sure I would have wanted to defend myself, telling them that I had been “trying” to obey the Lord, and besides, He had done some very amazing things up to this point.  Then to God I would have been going, “How did I mess up your plan SO badly that it all ends like this?”

But Moses doesn’t do any of that.  He replies in verse 13, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent”.

Oh my gosh!!  This is the stance I want to have for my circumstances!  Then God tells him in verse 15…(I think this is rather funny) “Why are you crying out to Me? (So obviously Moses must have been sending up some desperate prayers, but they were cries for help, not accusations or questioning Him) Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Verse 19 says, “And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. So, it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night.  Thus, the one did not come near the other all night.”

Isn’t that amazing?  The confidence that Moses had developed through the plagues in Egypt and his experiences with God moving over and over again had grown up his faith.  But look at the adversity he went through to get there.  Having to go make the same request from Pharaoh (let my people go) over and over with the same answer each time (no) then seeing all of Egypt suffer from the stubbornness of their leader.  All of Egypt must have been upset because of their suffering.  The children of Israel were definitely upset, because they were telling Moses about their suffering and how they were being forced to make bricks without being provided with the straw to make them, yet they were required to produce the same quota each day or be whipped by their overseers. (see Exodus 5:6-19)

We are living in some tough times today.  With the natural eye, the climate seems to be getting more violent, with rioting, shootings, sickness and quarantine.  But I believe God has a plan.  I do not want to be like Israel, panicking at the Red Sea, I want to be like Moses, facing each situation with faith that God will reveal the next step as he goes. He was faithful to them and He is faithful to us. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)

I’ve heard it said that Vietnam was the first war where it was hard to tell who the enemy was.  The Vietnamese were fighting for both sides, and with your natural eye you couldn’t tell which side,a person approaching, was on. I sensed the Lord telling me to begin to identify the enemies of my own mind. What lies did I believe? What filters did I process life through?

2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “…so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes”; And Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”.

1 Corinthians 10:1-11 retells the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness with verse 11 in the Passion Translation saying, “All the tests they endured on their way through the wilderness are a symbolic picture, an example that provides us with a warning so that we can learn through what they experienced”.

So, with that in mind, I’d like to take a look through some of the different situations the children of Israel faced in the wilderness and analyze their response to each situation. I believe we can glean wisdom from their experiences to apply to our own.

LOOKING BACK:

1.The Red Sea Exodus 14:10-12  And as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.  Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?  Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?  Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?  For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness”.

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?  I saw   fear, unbelief (lack of trust), self pity, accusations, eyes focused on the circumstances and not on the Lord,    sarcasm (no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the wilderness), not remembering God’s past faithfulness (I mean, He had already done so many miracles during the plagues in Egypt)

What Moses did: 13-14  But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.  The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent”.

What God did: 19-20 And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.  So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet It gave light at night.  Thus, the one did not come near the other all night.

Then… vs 21-29 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.  The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.  Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea.  At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.  He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”  Then the Lord said to Moses. “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”  So, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.  The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left”.

2.Waters of Marah Exodus 15:22-24 “Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore, it was named Marah.  So the people grumbled at Moses saying, “What shall we drink?”

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?  I saw   grumbling and complaining,  lack of trust, looking to man for provisions instead of God,   hopelessness,   not remembering God’s past faithfulness

What Moses did:  25a  Then he cried out to the Lord

What God did:  25b-26  “and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.  There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.  And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

3.Manna and quail  Exodus 16:1-3  “Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.  The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger”.

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?  I saw fear, grumbling and complaining, accusation, influencing others in fear (the whole congregation was grumbling but you know it started with just one), Unbelief (looking to man instead of God), not remembering God’s past faithfulness

What God did: 4-15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.  On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your grumblings against the Lord; and what are we, that you grumble against us?”

Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him.  And what are we?  Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’” It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

So, it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.  When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.  When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did now know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.”

4.Obeying His ways  Exodus 16:16,19 “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece, according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” Vs 19 “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.”

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?   Disobedience, using their own reasoning instead of following orders (I know my own family’s needs best), independence (I’ll do it my own way),  lack of trust (that God knows my needs best), not remembering God’s past faithfulness

5.Sabbath Instructions   Exodus 16:22-30  “Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one.  When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is the sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord.  Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until morning, as Moses ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.  Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.”

It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore, He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day.  Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.”

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?   (again) Disobedience,   using their own reasoning instead of following orders (it was there every other day so why not today),  independence (I’ll do it my own way),  not taking God at His word ,  not remembering God’s past faithfulness

6.Water From The Rock Exodus 17:1-3 “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.  Therefore, the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me?  Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”.”

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?  Fear, grumbling and complaining,   looking for provisions from man instead of God, accusations,    lack of trust,  unbelief,   not remembering God’s past faithfulness

What Moses did:  vs 4   “So Moses cried out to the Lord saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me”.”

What God did: vs 5-7 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink”.”

7. Complaining about each other  Numbers 12:1-2 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?  Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the Lord heard it.”

What schemes of the enemy do you see here?  I saw   jealousy (has God only spoken to Moses?),   judgment (of the Cushite woman),  pride (sat themselves above the Cushites),  backbiting/gossip (sowing discord), rebellion

What God did:  vs 5-10  “Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam.  When they had both come forward He said, “Hear now My words.  If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord shall make Myself known to him in a vision.  I shall speak with him in a dream.  Not so, with My servant Moses.  He is faithful in all My household.  With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?” So the anger of the Lord burned against them and He departed.  But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow.  As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous.”

What Moses did:  vs 13  “And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Oh God, heal her, I pray!”

Wow! Isn’t that impressing… I want to have this kind of trust in the Lord that I can have this response, even when wronged. He did not vindicate himself, or complain about his own siblings turning against him.  He cried out in intercession for those who had spoken against him; And God did vindicate him.  He said, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again”. So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

I find it interesting to note that Miriam’s sin affected everyone, not just Miriam.  Everyone waited for her throughout that seven days and did not move on.  I think we secretly feel like our sin issues are ours alone, but truthfully, our sin affects us all.  We may not see its affects in others, but I believe, in the Spirit, we impact each other.

We could go on and on, there are so many situations they faced in the wilderness.  But what I discovered while I was doing this was the enemies that they were being influenced with are the same ones we face today.  The ways of the enemy have not changed after all of these years.  I saw that fear, pride, independence and everything else they faced are situations I have had to deal with. 

Recognizing these things has helped me put a name on what I’m vulnerable to and recognize it easier.  It gives a face to the schemes of the enemy so I can see it sooner and not find myself lying flat on my back wondering how the rug of faith got swept out from under my feet yet again.

I also find comfort and encouragement that the work done in Moses was accomplished during times of stress and crisis.  We say we want to be a people of miracles, but to have a miracle, you have to have a situation you need a miracle for.  Living a lifestyle of faith is finding God’s path through the circumstances we find ourselves in, and His supernatural provisions in the midst of trouble. 

We are all living in times of trouble right now.  But we have a choice to make.  Are we going to suffer through our troubles, barely squeaking by, plagued by hopelessness and fear?  Or are we going to see with eyes of faith, cry out to the God who can make a difference, and overcome these times with supernatural provisions.

A couple of years ago, our family was fundraising for an adoption. I was feeling the stress and pressure of seeing it accomplished (as if I could have made it happen…but that’s another story) and while I was in prayer, the Lord gave me a vision. I was walking through a swiftly flowing stream, stepping on rocks as I went across. It was foggy and I couldn’t see the next stone in front of me. All I could see was the stone I was on. The Lord was holding my hand to keep me steady and my foot was stepping out towards the next rock, although I could not yet see it. I heard these words, “This is what it looks like to walk by faith. You can’t see where your foot will yet step, but you know who’s holding your hand.” that gave me such comfort to know that I couldn’t see the whole picture, or even the next step clearly. But I knew who was holding me up and guiding me across.

This is what I still want.  Troubles are here and have seemingly increased.  But, in the Bible, it was during crisis times that He moved in very significant ways. God has a plan and He wants us to be a part. He wants us to trust in Him and ask Him how He sees the situations that we are facing. He wants us to pray what He shows us to pray. He wants us to then do what He shows us to do. And Moses had his part to do too. He held out his staff when the Lord told him to. He struck the rock when the Lord told him to. God did His part (which was most of it) and Moses did his part.

When we trust in Him, ask Him the next questions, and obey His promptings, no matter whether they seem to make sense or not, we WILL see His hand at work.  That, folks, is what I choose!