Will He Do It Again?
INTRODUCTION:
As we have been following God’s children in the wilderness, He again requires trust and obedience. These seem like simple words but when they are faced with having no water in Exodus 16, they begin to grumble and complain. They did not trust God to guide them. That means we can question; Will He do it again? He will provide what is needed, when it is needed.
As I was thinking and praying about you as leaders on the front lines, giving and sharing your lives, I began to remember my past. I began to cry out, “Lord you have blessed me, you will bless me again, Lord, you have healed me and you will heal me again. I need your touch right now and I know you will do whatever needs to be done.” This lesson has become very personal to me.
We must continue to thank God for His grace when we move forward and face what seems like the impossible. We will always have an answer, but we must always trust and obey His instructions. How easy it is to grumble and complain too quickly only to be embarrassed by God’s help.
1. IT IS EASY TO COMPLAIN.
Exodus 16:1-3. Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
It happened again, as God’s children faced danger, shortages and inconveniences, they complained and longed to be back in Egypt.
Difficult times can lead to stress.
Then complaining is a natural response and we must choose not to complain. The Israelites did not really want to be back in Egypt.
They just wanted it to be easier.
They did not focus on the cause of their stress which was lack of trust in God. We look at our problem many times and blame everyone but do not focus on our lack of trust.
2. THERE IS NO QUICK WAY TO ESCAPE.
When pressure comes, resist the temptation to make a quick escape.
Focus on God’s power and wisdom.
He will always help you deal with the cause of stress. He does know our problems.
God promised to meet their need.
Verse 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.”
God decided to test their obedience.
V 4b I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.
God can ask us to do an assignment, but we must trust and know obedience to His instruction is Key to victory!
3. GOD GIVES DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS.
With the instructions, they would realize it was the Lord who brought them out of Egypt.
The Lord is with us.
Verse 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who bought you out of Egypt.
The Lord is with you, He is with us!
We will see His glory.
V 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord because he has heard your complaints which are against him, not against us.
I know in my life, even when I didn’t understand all the instructions, I knew God had spoken and He was with me. This is so important in our journey.
It happened again.
16:14-16 Manna appeared on the ground each day as thick flakes like frost. The people gathered it, grounded it like grain and made it into honey-tasting pancakes. For the Israelites the manna was a gift – it came every day and was just what they needed.
V15 It is the food the Lord has given you to eat.
Yes, God showed He could do it again; be the provider and meet their needs.
Moses said, “Present yourselves before the Lord.” We look at these examples and say, “how could they act this way?” But I have to ask myself, how can I doubt when I’ve seen His miracles in my life.
A Lesson: We must be patient for God’s kindness and help. Don’t let our negative attitude erode our trust in God.
CONCLUSION:
God knew the plan all the time and wanted to see if His children would obey his detailed instructions. We can learn to trust Him by following and taking small steps of obedience. This provision from the father kept them until they entered the Promised Land.
REFLECT: What are your needs you are facing on your journey?
It is good to reevaluate. What are my instructions for my journey? What are my needs? What are the promises He has given me proving His faithfulness, love, and care?
After all, I’m called by God, my needs are provided by God, and I am never alone in the wilderness.
Will He do it again? Absolutely, He will prove his faithfulness to you! There are no surprises to Him, and the task is never too big for Him.
PRAY: I ask you Father to help all of us to trust and obey you in the tough times. Help us not to look at the circumstances but focus on you, your past answers, and care. We know you will do it again; whatever needs to happen will happen.