Doubt

Prone to wander L-rd I feel it. Prone to leave the G-d I love.


I remember reading through Exodus a while ago and being amazed at the Israelites. It takes no in depth analysis of the Old Testament to see that the L-rd provided for His chosen people. One of the greatest accounts of His provision is recorded in Exodus 14 as the L-rd parts the Red Sea. This epic saga is one so famous that many people outside the Church even know it, it is nothing short of a breathtaking miracle.

But what causes me to be amazed at the Israelites comes later at the end of Exodus 15 and the beginning of Exodus 16. What is recorded here (directly after a nationwide worship session might I add) is something i have unfortunately found to be true of humanity, they forget.

Coming out of one of the most impressive and memorable miracles in all of history the Israelites begin to grumble (Ex 15:24) and say to Moses, “Would that we had died by the L-RD’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.” (Exodus 16:3) They forget that G-d has just delivered them and are now deluded into thinking that He may be trying to kill them.

Now it is easy, at least it is for me, to begin to look down on the Israelites and think foolish they are. But, how different am I? The L-rd provides for me in miraculous ways (and this is something, I am beginning to see, that happens daily) and yet I am so prone to forget and so prone to doubt. And just as I am beginning to see this happen I am also beginning to see a pattern; doubting follows forgetting. I think this makes sense because how could we doubt if we are constantly remembering what G-d has done (12 times the Israelites are told to "remember" what the L-rd has done in just the 5 books of Torah). And you see it elsewhere in Scripture for it seems that everything points us back to Him, reminds us of our Father and of His love and power.

An so now, even as I am writing this, doubt is no longer an infirmity but rather it is a symptom, one that calls me to remember the Father.

Maybe you are in a boat similar to mine, I do not know your doubts, and maybe you need to remember. Remember that you are in the Father's hands and cannot be snatched away. Remember that your Father will provide for your every need with the utmost love and attention. Remember that you have not been left alone as an orphan but given the indwelling Spirit and the title of Child of the Most High. Remember that He is working ALL things for your good. Remember that by the blood of Christ you now stand clean. Remember that you are incomprehensibly loved by the Creator of the universe.

Grace and Peace beloved,

In Christ,
AC