Optimist Roundtable
By Martha Sykes
Reading the book of Exodus, we can read of the trying times for the Israelite people. As they encounter uncertainty, inconvenience and terrible times( according to them), they seem to be grumbling about wanting to be back in Egypt. But, as we read through the passage, we come to realize that no matter what happened, God still provided their needs. He reassured them through providing for their needs that He was going to be with them and care for them. The Israelite people were “stressed out” as we seem to hear these words in our present day talk.
Now some commentators may focus on this grumbling and complaining of the people against God and there may be lessons there for all of us that tells us we should not be like those people. As we think about being Christian people there shouldn’t be any room in our lives for fear, for dissatisfaction or for doubt. As I thought about this passage in chapter 16, I really don’t think that this is what the passage is meant to teach all of us. And I don’t really believe that we should get upset with ourselves about those times when we wonder why, when we are afraid, or when we sometimes grumble or complain.
What I believe that this passage proves to us is that God cares for His people, He responds to their needs and that He is with them to watch over them.
Sometimes when we wonder, when we doubt, or when we complain it can show a lack of faith on our part, BUT there are times when an occasional “ why” or fear, or doubt is going to pop up in our every day lives. And God, who has promised to be with us, is not going to be upset with us, but He is going to respond to us with his love and mercy, as always.
If we have needs and fears, we should tell God because He listens. As we all look back on our lives, I’m sure we can all think of times when God has provided our needs for us. When we have been in despair, hope then came to us. When we have had sorrow, then joy came too. When our hearts were broken, God healed them. God has done so much for us, and there comes a time when we need to stop and think what it is that God has done. We need to come to that point where we need to recognize in the midst of any fears that we have that God has been with us to help us in the past and God can be trusted to be with us now and every moment into our future.
