Beyong Belief Week 4

When you doubt, God still takes care of you.

[INTRODUCTION]

Welcome to our final week of Beyond Belief.

Throughout this series, we have discovered that doubt and questions are invitations to grow spiritually and deepen our relationship with God.

We have seen how God can use us even when we doubt our abilities.

And last week, we learned that even when we feel lost or doubt where God is leading us, God still offers us guidance.

[TRANSITION]

The Israelites were officially free. After years of slavery, the plagues, being chased by an army, following the pillars of smoke and fire, and walking through the Red Sea, they found themselves wandering in the desert.

Exodus 16:2–3 (CSB)

2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”

God's people were upset with Moses and Aaron because they weren't providing them with the necessities to survive in the wilderness.

They were looking back to Egypt and wondering if they should have left because at least they had food. They were hungry.

In a short period, they went from feeling like God protected and guided them to feeling like God had completely forgotten about them and abandoned them to wander alone in a hot desert.

Being hungry and knowing you are in a horribly hot situation is tough to face on its own, and it would be doubly hard if you felt like the reason you were there was that God forgot about or misled you.

They probably thought what some of us think in difficult situations:

Does God even care about us?

Is God going to come through for us?

Am I an inconvenience to God?

[TRANSITION]

At this point, all the Israelites saw was that they were stuck in a desert with horrible food and water, and they were complaining about it.

Which do you think:

God's people had a right to complain about their situation.

God's people didn't have a right to complain about their situation.

The point of the story is that both ideas are right and for us to see, and Scripture intends them to be that way.

On the one hand, we might think there was no reason for the Israelites to doubt God or complain. After all, they had been rescued from slavery.

But then they were out in the wilderness, confused about where God was taking them, and I can imagine they were frustrated. They had lost the belief that God was actually leading them somewhere.

But on the other hand, how often has God miraculously brought us through a tough time only for us to worry and whine when the next difficulty comes?

The Israelites complained for the same reasons we all do. Our problems cloud our remembrance of all the times God has been faithful in the past, so we doubt God will be faithful in the future.

This story shows us our own humanity in the Israelites. All of us are guilty of complaining to God while forgetting everything God has done for us.

[TRANSITION]

Scripture invites us to empathize with the Israelites' desire to return to Egypt. And if we're honest, many of us would have done the same thing. And because of that, I am thankful for what God did next.

Exodus 16:4–15 (CSB)

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?” 8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”

9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.

11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

13 So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.

Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

God moved toward his people with compassion.

God told Moses he had heard their frustrations and would once again provide for them.

God gave them food that they called manna, which was a strange but delicious bread they had never seen before. It tasted like spice and honey — flavors that, as enslaved people in Egypt, they would have rarely had access to.

Manna showed the people of Israel that God saw and cared for them and desired them to have good things.

This provision bolstered the faith of God's people, encouraging them once again that they could trust God to come through.

It might not look like how we expect or happen when we want, but God always keeps God's promises — even if we doubt.

God heard and cared for God's people. God saw the Israelites' pain, confusion, complaints, and doubt, and God sees you in yours.

When you grumble in doubt, God takes care of you by listening.

When you are mad, hurt, or confused, God hears you and does not turn away from you.

When you feel distant from God, God moves to you.

When you feel lost, God still guides you.

[TRANSITION]

God's people ended up being in the desert for 40 years, so they had plenty of time to learn to trust and remember that God was taking care of them, even in times of doubt and uncertainty.

God's provision wasn't determined by how much faith the Israelites had in God. God provided no matter what. And this experience of God's provision inspired poems like this one.

Psalm 77:11–12 (CSB)

11 I will remember the Lord’s works;

yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.

12 I will reflect on all you have done

and meditate on your actions.

When we're in the midst of pain, confusion, and doubt, it is easy to forget what is helpful to remember.

And God doesn't hold that against you. God's people found that the best way to see that God was still working was to remember how God showed up for them in the past. This helped them believe, even when they couldn't see God working.

The Psalm invites us to reflect on how God has moved and been faithful in our lives before, and as we do that, our faith will rise, and we will start to believe again that God will be faithful.

In light of walking through the book of Exodus for four weeks, pause and remember what God has done for you.

God will never fail to provide for you. You have seen that God's faithfulness isn't dependent on your faith. Even when you doubt, God still takes care of you.

[TRANSITION]

We've gotten a front-row seat to see how God's people handle difficult things.

While they definitely had some moments of frustration and complaining that they probably aren't proud of, they also allowed their faith to grow as they saw God provide for them time and time again despite their doubts.

Like the people of Israel, I need to learn to take a new, more trusting perspective on how God cares for and leads me through difficult seasons that feel like aimless wandering. So, here are a few ways the Exodus story can help remind us that God provides even in times of doubt or uncertainty:

REMEMBER WHERE YOU'VE BEEN: You didn't suddenly arrive at this point in your life. A whole series of decisions have brought you here. Some of those were in your control, and some of those were not. When we compare where we've been with where we are, we can open our eyes to the hand of God in our lives. When you doubt God will provide, spend a few minutes writing down ways God has provided in your past.

REMEMBER, YOU DON'T KNOW THE FUTURE: Many more decisions and opportunities await each of us. Talk to God about where the Spirit is guiding you and how this moment may prepare you for what is ahead.

RELY ON YOUR COMMUNITY: God's people had wise leaders like Moses, Aaron, and Miriam who wanted the best for them. People love and care for us as we are, not because we can do things for them or have earned their love. Even when you doubt, God won't stop providing for you. God may even provide guidance through the people God has placed in your life to help you navigate those doubts. We should all have people who can help us in difficult moments. If you don't feel like you have someone like that, please talk to one of our volunteers or a trusted adult about that today.