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If I Were God

Thank God I’m Not

The story of Exodus is the story of God’s patience. That’s the story of your life—mine, too: God has been so patient toward us. What if today you spent some time reflecting on how long-suffering he has consistently been toward you. Think of specific ways the Almighty has endured your immaturity and griping by showing you his kindness and giving you his grace instead. Now, in light of that, translate God’s patience into human patience by extending some to someone in your world in need of your mercy and grace. And if you can’t think of anyone, call me!

The Journey// Focus: Exodus 16:6-8

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

If I were God, it is likely that one of two extremes would happen: I’d either wipe out the human race and create a species of robots who never questioned my authority but only obeyed quickly, unquestioningly and joyfully. Or I become a pushover, unable to muster the moral fortitude to do what was required, never get around to punishing sin, and earth would be overrun with wrongdoers doing wrong things.

Anyway, aren’t you glad that I’m not God? I sure am!

That aside, do you not find this chapter, and the many like it in Scripture, so amazing, given the patience and mercy of God? In this case, after delivering Israel by his mighty hand from Egypt with one miracle after another, and after giving them water by healing the poisoned waters at the Marah oasis (Exodus 15:22-27), the Israelites have turned right around and griped yet again about God’s lack of care for their needs.

Now actually, they are complaining about Moses, but he rightly ascribes their griping as, in reality, grumbling against God: “the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him” (the line is repeated twice, in Exodus 16:7 and 16:8) and again in Exodus 16:8, “You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” Yet God graciously, patiently, mercifully responds to their grumbling with grace—he gives them what they don’t deserve: manna in the morning and meat at night.

If I were God, would I have been so gracious? From my perspective sitting on my loft moral perch thousands of years after the fact, no. But when I think about my own children and grandchildren, it is very likely that I would have endured the Israelites’ immaturity and offered grace in order to bring them to growth in their character. Paul talks of this kind of radical patience with a redemptive purpose in Romans 2:4,

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Again, I am glad I am not God, and that God is God. Neither you nor I would be around if the equation were changed and I were put in charge. But thank God for his grace, mercy, patience and loving-kindness to us. As King David wrote in Psalm 103:13-14,

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

In light of that, I think there are a least three critical takeaways that we should consider:

  1. We must remember that grumbling ultimately is grumbling against God. So, let’s not—ever!
  2. We should be grateful that God overlooks our immaturity for a while. So let’s grow up—fast!
  3. Given God’s undeserved patience and unmerited grace toward ingrates like us, how much more tolerant should we be in enduring those who test our patience. So, let’s chill—with everyone!

There is a Hebrew tradition that Abraham was sitting by his tent when he saw a weary, old man walking his way. Abraham rushed out to greet him and invited him into his tent. He washed his feet and gave him food and drink. The old man immediately began eating without saying a blessing, so Abraham asked him, “Don’t you worship God?”

He replied, “I worship fire only and reverence no other god.”

Abraham was indignant, and grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out his tent into the cold night. After the old man was gone, God called out to Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, “I forced him out because he did not worship you.”

God answered, “Abraham, I have suffered him these eighty-three years, although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?”

We who have been the recipients of the patience of God, how can we do no less than to allow the patience of God to liberally be extended to others through our lives?

Thank God for his extreme patience. And yes, thank God I am not in his place!

Going Deeper: Reflect on God’s patience toward you. Think of specific ways the Almighty has endured your immaturity and griping. Now, in your world, who is it that needs the extension of your mercy and grace?

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No Whining

Choose Trust Instead

“The people complained and turned against Moses!” Same song, second verse in the musical known as Exodus. And what you and I must learn from this cast of Israelites is that nothing is as polar opposite to trust as complaint. But nothing is more precious to God than our trust, especially when the evidence is against trusting in that given moment. More than anything—more than sacrifice, more than service, more than singing, trust says, “I love you” to God. On the other hand,  Nothing says, “I can’t depend on you” like whining. Choose trust—no one who ever did has lived to regret it!

The Journey// Focus: Exodus 15:22-25

Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

There is nothing so odious to God as his people complaining when things don’t go their way. On the other hand, there is nothing so pleasing to God as his people trusting him in the midst of things not going their way. Whining or worship, two polar opposite choices we are given in any set of circumstance—and two choices that have far reaching consequences in our journey of faith.

Now let’s be fair to the Israelites in Exodus 15. Even though they had just been delivered from Egypt in the most extraordinary way—remember, the ten plagues, and to cap it off, the parting of the Red Sea—they were now three days into the desert on their way to Canaan and they had no water. Imagine carrying your little ones, who are now parched and crying for water, and you can do nothing about it. Imagine being a nursing mother, or a father herding your livestock and your four little ones, and you have nothing to quench their extreme thirst, and no prospects of water in sight. Imagine thinking you and your loved ones are going to die of thirst—literally! You think you wouldn’t complain against the decisions your leader had made to put you and your family in this predicament? Think again!

But let’s also be fair to God. He must have been disappointed that the Israelites had so quickly forgotten his mighty hand of provision, yet he responds so graciously to their whining. He didn’t yell at them; he didn’t punish them. He had pity on them and provided safe, cool, life-giving water by instructing Moses to throw a tree into the bitter pool of Marah—and it was cleansed. You think that prefigures the cleansing, life-saving power of another tree upon which the Water of Life was crucified? Then God goes a step further and covenants yet again, in response to their trust, to provide them with life and health. (Exodus 15:25-26)

Now, why didn’t God just provide water for them right away? Why put them through such a painful ordeal? I don’t know—he is God and I am not. But I suspect that Exodus 15:25 is the key: to test their faithfulness to him. The Israelites had 400 years of Egypt in their system, and God had to systematically remove it from them in order to have a people unto himself—a people who had come to trust in him ruthlessly. In fact, in Deuteronomy 8, as Moses is recounting their journey as they near the Promised Land he offers this retrospective on these very events:

Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. (Deuteronomy 8:1-6)

The people were desperate, and in their desperation, they acted out of fear, not faith. And if we were to be honest about it, we would have been right with them. But God graciously, mercifully overlooked their grumbling in the moment and gave them what they needed. But it was a test, and he expected them to grow in their trust through a test they had failed. By the way, isn’t it true that wise students learn most from failed tests while unwise just keep on failing? Later on, the Israelites failed again, and this time their complaining was met with discipline. (see Numbers 14 and 16) Keep that in mind.

The point being, the life of faith will be full of tests that will lead us to either whine, which, at its core, is distrust, or worship, which at its core, is trust. But behind it all, which we must keep at the forefront of our minds, is the faithfulness of a God who will never fail us. He will stretch us, but he will never ditch us. And because of his impeccable trustworthiness, we can, should and must choose trust over complaint—100% of the time. That is not easy, since we still live in earthbound bodies of flesh that are prone to self-centeredness and whininess, but it is eminently doable and infinitely wise.

Yes, God will stretch us, but no, he will never ditch us. So, no matter what, lean into God!

Going Deeper: Take some time, today if possible, and read, then re-read Deuteronomy 8. Ask the Holy Spirit to saturate your soul in the hope that God has for your relationship with him that this chapter describes.
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Your Testimony Needs A Test

Still Want That Testimony?

So you want a testimony, do you? Are you willing to go through the test that makes the testimony? Are you willing to have your back against the wall, to be pressed into knowing no helper but God, to know that unless God comes through you’ll go down in flames, to despair even of life? Those are the conditions out of which great testimonies are born—just ask Joseph (a prison), Moses (a pursuing army), David (a giant) Daniel (a lion’s den), Paul (a shipwreck) and Jesus (a cross). The Bible clearly warns that the path to our crown is by way of a cross. If you are willing to endure, the test will pale in comparison the testimony you end up with—and the glory that goes to God.

The Journey// Focus: Exodus 14:10-11

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”

So you want a testimony, do you? I do too! But are you willing to go through the circumstances that precede the testimony? Are you willing to have your back against the wall, to be pressed into knowing no helper but God, to know that unless God comes through you’ll go down in flames, to despair even of life? Those are the conditions out of which great testimonies are born.

Joseph had to spend some time in the pit before God lifted him up as the “prince” of Egypt—next to Pharaoh, second most powerful figure in all of Egypt. David had to actually go out onto the battlefield and stand before Goliath before he became a giant-slayer. Daniel had to literally get tossed into a den full of protein-loving lions for the angel of the Lord to come and clamp their canines. Paul had to cruise into the midst of a deadly storm in order to survive an otherwise deadly shipwreck. Jesus had to go through the ordeal of the cross in order to overcome the grave.

You get the point, don’t you? Sadly, too many Christians don’t! They want the testimony without the trial. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. You cannot separate the crown from the cross. In the Christian faith, the road to glory is along the path of suffering. Now I realize that is not the greatest slogan for a recruitment campaign, but it’s true. Not because God is some kind of celestial masochist, but the reality is this present world is under the dominion of sin. And the Bible clearly warns that it takes warfare to bring it back and put it under the dominion of its rightful Ruler—and along the way, soldiers will get wounded.

No, it’s not a great campaign pitch, but there is no testimony without a trial. The Bible clearly promises that the path to the crown is by way of the cross. However, it also promises that whatever discomfort, discouragement and pain Christians experience for the sake of their faith will pale in comparison to the story they receive and the glory God receives.

The children of Israel desperately wanted God to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt, but they complained bitterly when it caused them discomfort. On more than one occasion they whined at Moses and complained about God because they weren’t consulted about the Divine deliverance plan.

Now God graciously put up with their moaning, but he came really close to losing his cool on occasion. Ultimately God delivered them, in spite of their bellyaching, and they ended up with a terrific testimony, but they were forever tagged with the whiner label.

Here’s the deal: Don’t be that way! If you want a testimony—and I think you do—trust God to bring it to you in anyway he sees fit. Just trust, don’t complain—even with the not-so-pleasant stuff that precedes the testimony. Later on, whatever discomfort, discouragement and pain you experienced will pale in comparison to the story you end up with—and the glory that goes to God.

Going Deeper: Offer thanks to God for every difficult, disappointment and delay you can think of that he has allowed in your life. Why? Because in his love for you, his grace and wisdom has morphed those very trials to shape you for greater things and eternal usefulness.