W.I.S.H. – Weekly Insights for Spiritual Health 04-28-2021
Read: Exodus 14
At what point does “belief” become “Faith”? One Christian author stated that faith is belief that has been tested. I like that. Until our beliefs are tested in the crucible of life, our beliefs remain a bit of a mustard seed of faith. It is when our belief and trust in God has been tested, that we know that we can truly rely on God.
So it was for the liberated slaves who were becoming the covenant people of God. It was not easy for them. The fears that had ruled them for 430 years lingered. Just when they were excited for their freedom, and for God’s victory over Pharaoh, the world’s greatest army began pursuing them. It was the classic, “caught between a rock and a hard place” situations. Pharaoh’s army was charging from one direction and the ominous Red Sea was in the other. They thought they were about to die.
Don’t judge them too harshly – we have the decided advantage of knowing how the story turns out. They were about to find out if the LORD could and would indeed save them, again. In what is among the Bible’s greatest miracles, God parted the Red Sea. The people had a path of faith on which to move forward. It was a desperate choice, but they made their choice and trusted God for their deliverance. When the Hebrew people were safely on the other side, and as Pharaoh’s great chariot attack force pursued, the hand of God pulled back and the devastating waters crashed in upon the Egyptian soldiers. God proved sufficient, again. Interestingly, it would be a lesson they’d need to learn and relearned many times.
Most of us probably have “mustard seed” faith; it’s small and not overly impressive. Our faith hasn’t been tried by adversity and forged by experience, so it remains like a mustard seed. But remember that Jesus commended His followers for having a mustard seed amount of faith. Jesus said the Kingdom of God was like a mustard seed– having great potential in the world. Note: faith grows stronger by adversity AND experience. Adversity usually disrupts our lives – it is an unwelcome guest. But experience is different. We have a greater say in choosing our experiences. We may choose to learn, pray, serve, help, share, give, discuss, etc., in ways we know will help us to grow in our faith in positive circumstances. How will you choose to grow in your faith? Pray about it. Commit it to the Lord. And trust the path forward.
Shalom,
Pastor Rob Nystrom
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]