Exodus 14:10-12

The Israelites saw the approaching army and were terrified. They thought they were about to die and complained that they never wanted to be saved in the first place. Let's look at these two things.

First, there assessment that they were about to die was entirely reasonable. The Egyptian army was about to come upon them, there was no way of escape, and they had no military power to resist. Any military strategist would have agreed with their assessment. It was reasonable, it was rational and it was wrong. It was wrong because they had not taken account of what God was going to do. Note, also, that God had not told them what He was going to do in detail at this point. He had told them he would save them, He would take them to the Promised Land.

Now in our own lives there are many times when things look bleak, and any rational assessment of situation would agree that there is no hope, but we are to live by faith, not by sight. Now this does not mean ignoring the facts, or pretending that the facts are not as they are (see Romans 4:19). Faith does not ignore the facts, but it does look beyond them. So when a purely rational assessment takes away all hope, we should not despair. Consider also that at this point God had not told them He was going to part the Red Sea, but He had told them He would take them to the Promised Land. Now God has not told us all that He will do in our life, or how he will do it. No doubt there are situations right now that you or I face and God has not told us exactly what He will do about it. But He has told us He will save us, He has told us he will complete the work He has started in us, He has told us that we can trust completely in His love. These are the things we need to know above all.