Seven Lessons We Can Learn From the Israelites and Their Journey Through the WildernessSample

Trust:

Trust is a two-way relationship! God had chosen to trust the Israelites, and they now had the choice to trust Him back. We choose trust in each moment and in every relationship. We don’t choose trust because we know that that person is never going to let us down, but because we open up greater possibilities of a relationship when we choose to partner with trust. Choosing trust is the most vulnerable thing one can do. God chose to trust the Israelites even though they still had the free will not to choose Him. He was willing to take a chance on them because of the possibility of the relationship they could have. 

When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and Moses went up to meet with God in the cloud of His presence over the mountain, it didn’t take long for the Israelites to stray. It says in Exodus 32 that “When they saw that Moses was long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ’Come. Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, we don’t know what has happened to him.’” Moses had been a faithful leader to them, yet they were willing to quickly desert him as soon as he wasn’t working according to their timetable. The Israelites did not have a lot of trust in God or in the leader that He had given them, and it set them up for failure. 

It’s a powerful thing to choose to trust someone when you don’t know what they are going to do. You see, if you only choose trust based upon someone doing what you want them to do, that is actually control, not trust. God opened Himself up to being hurt and let down when He entered into a covenantal relationship with Israel. Much like in marriage, when we enter into a covenant with one another we are putting our trust in the other person to love us and care for us and to meet our needs. We have no control though over the choices that the other person may make and how they might hurt us. 

Israel tested God many times. Too numerous to count, and yet God continued to choose them even when they didn’t choose Him. This is the power of trust! We continue to put our faith in people even when they aren’t acting their best. We have faith in who people can become and trust is actually saying, “I will love you into becoming who you are made to be, and not only when you are acting as you should.” This is how God’s love works for us. He loves and chooses us before we are worthy of being loved. In this love, we become who we are created to be. 

Do you have areas in your life in which you find it hard to trust? Have you maybe been let down and don’t know how to trust again? The good news is you can always choose trust again and let it set you free! 

Prayer: God, thank You that you chose to trust me before I was worthy of Your trust. This shows me Your love for me and that You will never stop loving me no matter what I do to let You or myself down. I am so thankful that Your love transcends my ability to get it right. Your love sets me free to love others and choose to trust no matter what might happen. I am so thankful that Your love is what keeps me and makes all things in my life work together for my good. 

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