Faith, Doubt, and Growth

Exodus 14-15 boggle my mind and sound eerily familiar all at the same time! Here's what I mean.

In Exodus 14, the Israelites see God's power demonstrated in an incredible way. He delivers them from Pharaoh's pursuing army by supernaturally parting the Red Sea. In fact, when Israel stands on the other side of the Red Sea after God closes the waters on Pharaoh and his army, Exodus 14:30-31 says, "That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant" (NIV). So here we see Israel believe in the Lord.

But in Exodus 15, we see Israel sing a song of praise to the Lord for His great deliverance in basically the first twenty-one verses of the chapter. Then they doubt God in the final six verses of the SAME chapter! Of course, through this time of struggle, God reveals His power again, demonstrates His love for His people, and teaches them to trust Him for every need. And, of course, if you've read the Old Testament before, you know that this pattern of faith, doubt, and growth constantly repeats in the life of Israel on their wilderness trek to the Promised Land.

Yet, this is what sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it? We might think to ourselves: How could Israel see God part the Red Sea and destroy an army in one chapter, and then doubt God's power to give them something to drink before the very next chapter is over? I mean, if God can control a "Sea" with His power, I would think He could handle getting me a drink of water when I need one, right?

Well, let me ask you a question or two: How can we trust God to save our soul, but we struggle with trusting Him to take care of the electric bill? How can we trust Him to hold the whole world in His hands, but we doubt He can handle our busy schedule this weekend? Etc. It's interesting to me how we can stand in a wroship service and sing about God's greatness, but we're worried sick over some thing before the leave the parking lot in our car! Is God only "God" in worship services? Or, is He "God" all the time? We know the answer to this - God is God all the time!

You get the idea, right? We all struggle with faith and doubt, and yet, this is what God often uses to cultivate deeper spiritual growth in our lives. If we were honest, many of us would say that we've prayed many times like the father in Mark 9:24b, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief" (NIV)!

Again, we all struggle with faith and doubt. This is how we grow (see James 1:2-8). So press on in faith by God's power (see 2 Peter 1:3)!