Sometimes I think I am wishy washy about following God or doing what is right

Exodus 14
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this. 5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen[a] and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. 10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11They 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? 12Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” The Israelites have seen God perform 10 plagues against the Egyptians. He has told them they will plunder Egypt when they leave, and the Egyptians give away their gold and silver to finally get the Israelites to leave once God does the tenth plague (killing the first born if there was no marker on the door). With all of that, they cower at the first major problem, afraid of the Egyptians who changed their minds about letting the Israelites go and decided to pursue them instead. Then the Israelites complain to Moses about how they have been led to the desert to die. Whine. Whine. Whine. They have lived through ten plagues unscathed, and when trouble comes around after that, they forget about God completely!

I read that far and realized the Exodus from Egypt, and the Israelites quick departure from a firm faith, describes me. I see what God has done in my life, repairing seemingly unrepairable relationships, solving financial crisis, solving career solutions, putting people in my life to help me grow, hearing a sermon on Sunday which everyone remarks applies too each of their unique situations. Yet, I go to school the next day and feel sorry for myself when I have recalcitrant students who don't want to better themselves, our when the yearly income tax bill was beyond imagination!  Whine. Whine. Whine. Sound familiar?

But...just like with the Israelites, God gets past our whining and goes straight to the problem too help us through our struggles. The Israelites saw no way out of their being pinned in between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, but God showed up in a big way! In a way they could never have imagined!

I guess as sinful human beings, the devil can always find a toe hold in our lives. However, just like the Israelites, God is present in every situation. He has a plan that we do not understand. He helps us get through the tough times...as well as giving us the mountain top experiences we forget so easily when we are in the valleys. God is ALWAYS with us! Always! 

Why whine? Why complain? Be thankful in every situation, even what seems like the bad ones, for God is getting ready to do big things!

Father, thank you for seeing past our whining and getting to the heart of the problem. Saving us time and time again from our poor decisions, our less than stellar behavior, our lack of faith in your continual control over this life we live. Please help us to remember all the time that you are in control all the time. In Jesus Christ's name I pray. Amen.