In Exodus 15, Moses and the nation of Israel bust out in song, worshipping the God who miraculously helped them cross the Red Sea and saved them (again) from the Egyptians.
I can’t help but smile at the irony that, in Exodus 14, the people of Israel were griping and complaining about how it really wasn’t all that bad in Egypt and cynically asking Moses why he decided to bring them out to the wilderness to die. Now that God has saved them, the people are singing His praises in Exodus 15, but this spiritual high will not last for long.
I have been guilty of this as well. People are fickle. We are proud, and we want things to go our way. As long as everything is going my way, God and I are tight. Let’s face it, it doesn’t take a lot of faith to trust God when things are going well. Right after a major spiritual victory, who wouldn’t be worshipping God?
A godly man strives to cultivate a deeper faith – one more like Job’s, who said: “Though he slay me, yet I will hope in Him.” (Job 13:15) Remember how Job worshipped God after he lost everything – even his children? (Job 1:20-21) Now, that is a true heart of worship. That demonstrates a heart that loves the Lord more than anything or anyone else.
The nation of Israel will have a lot more ups and downs of faith, as you will see. Even Job was far from perfect, as we saw when we read Job. But his faith was certainly a ton more consistent than mine!
The nation of Israel was right to worship God after He delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. But I want to have the kind of heart for God that can say, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) This is the man and the worshipper that I want to be. I want to be a man who worships the Lord through the good and through the bad and who has a faith that does not waver based upon my circumstances.
Soul Care Blog 