Provoking Faith

‘WHY?’ QUESTIONS No.6

Ex 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

Distractions in life are many. Have you ever had the experience of being at a conference at the weekend, or simply in a Sunday morning Service when the Lord has spoken so clearly to you, that you made a serious commitment to move into a new area of faith? Then comes Monday with work or college or whatever it was, and suddenly it seems as if the world is falling on you, and for a few days it seems you are fighting for survival and by the end of the week all of the glory of the previous weekend seems a blurred dream, and faith seems to be scrabbling around on the floor! Even when it comes to the matter of receiving salvation, Jesus knew that distractions were a problem. Do you remember the parable of the Sower and the Seed when he said, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” (Mt 13:7) and later explained, “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” (Mt 13:22). There he identified two things that distract us so that we can fail to let the word grow in us and bring full salvation. The first was “the worries of this life”. When we struggle without the Lord’s grace, then worries overwhelm us and we lose what we had. The second was “the deceitfulness of wealth.” We focus on possessions, personal comfort and affluence, and we allow it to quench the work of the Spirit and we are distracted from the main purpose.

Our question today isn’t actually a question from man, it is from God. Again, to catch the import of it we need to look back at what has been happening. Israel have actually been delivered from the nation of Egypt. They are on the edge of the land, about to leave Egypt, and have arrived at the Red (Reed) Sea. God had done exactly what He had said He would do and had dealt with Pharaoh and Egypt, and Israel were now free. The only trouble is that Pharaoh has got over his initial grief at the loss of his son and is now pursuing Israel with his army, intent on vengeance. Then we find, “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.” (Ex 14:10). Their cry was one of total distress and they expressed it to Moses as, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” (v.11). They were certain they were going to die. The sea was before them and the enemy were behind them. They are locked in. We could have made this question the focus of today’s meditation, but considering the Lord’s question is more profitable.

So why does the Lord say, “Why are you crying out to me?”? It’s fairly obvious isn’t it? Well at a human level, yes, but this isn’t only at a human level. This involves God. The Christian life isn’t just about life at a human level; it’s about living life with God. God adds a completely new dimension to everything! What seems odd about this story is that Moses speaks out in great faith: “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. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Ex 14:13,14) – but apparently the people are still crying out. It must be that which prompts the Lord to ask this question of Israel.

If a dialogue had continued at this point I suspect it would have gone as follows: God – why are you crying out? People – because we’re about to be killed! God – do you think that after all I have done against Pharaoh to get you this far, I won’t look after you? People – so why don’t you do something? God – I’m waiting for you to ask me what to do next! But that doesn’t happen so the Lord simply tells Moses to get on with it. This is not a time for fine statements of faith; it’s a time for action, divinely supernatural action!

We are called to be a people of faith, and faith means action and not just words (see James 3:14 -). Jesus taught, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (Jn 14:12). The people of Israel had become distracted from the main purpose – that God had promised that He would completely deliver them and deal with Pharaoh. In their leaving and travelling, and probable tiredness, they come to a place where they are suddenly confronted with an obstacle and instead of saying, “Well, what do you want to do now, Lord?” they panic. It’s a very human thing to do, but there is this better way. God delights in doing the naturally impossible, but He does want our cooperation. He’s wanting to teach us Sonship, which is all about sharing the Father’s heart and understanding.

So here we are, having been taught so many fine things on a Sunday morning or at a conference, and then suddenly, when we weren’t expecting it, an obstacle appears that threatens us. We can either forget all we’ve learnt and panic and cry out in terror, or we can learn to say, “OK Lord, how do you want this to go? What do you want me to do in this?” Let’s start working on the latter option, shall we?