Whom do we trust?

Picking up the story from Exodus 5 that I briefly touched on in my post entitled in the face of adversity (link below)

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3482641210446131940/7378710360550077638

For some context Moses had been to Pharaoh to deliver the message given him to say to the King, "let my people go, to worship me". In response the work load was increased and the people complain bitterly, Moses is distraught...

Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Exodus 5:22‭-‬23 NIV

I can hear myself asking the same question "Why" as I am sure that many of us do. We want to understand. However it's not only of wanting to understand, but we are actually grieved, how could you let this happen? Don't you love me? We feel that we are entitled to a better treatment and therefore we have a victim mentality, God you disappointed my expectations, it's not fair!

Does that sound vaguely familiar? Yeah I know that feeling. 

Please note how God responds to Moses in the next chapter 6 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

Exodus 6:1 NIV

He doesn't sit Moses down and say "this is my reason" or explain why, if fact he simply states what is going to happen. A very good friend of mine Christy and I have discussed this often. It would appear that God seldom answers the Why question, but he does answer the What question.

Perhaps it's got to do with Who? Do we trust, obey, worship and have faith in God? Or do we question "Did did God really say?" as Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent to question. By asking the Why, maybe we are convinced that God is trying to pull one over us, does he really have our best interest in mind. Can you see that something deep in us is struggling to know that if God says "Don't eat of that fruit" he is in fact is trustworthy and knows best, he is our definitive guide to knowing right from wrong, Only if we trust Him.

So what do we learn from this? I am learning to ask the Why less, and ask the What more. What are your thoughts, words, plans and purposes God. What actions are required or how do I reflect your grace, love, and truth in and out of my life and circumstances despite adverse reactions around me. 

More importantly, I recall the Who, my God, Father, Lord and Saviour. Who He is to me and Who I am to Him.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

John 15:16 NIV



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oh to Be Chosen

 I don’t consider myself religious anymore. At least, not in the way people might expect. There was a time when belief felt structured, defined—something I either fit into or drifted away from. And in many ways, I did drift. I questioned, I pulled back, I let go of things that no longer felt true to me. But somewhere along the way—quietly, unexpectedly—something else found me. Not rules. Not obligation. Not pressure to become someone else. But a sense… that I am already chosen. And I know how that sounds, especially to those who’ve perhaps taken a step back from me over time. Maybe it feels like I’ve changed in ways that are hard to understand. Maybe it feels like distance was necessary. But the truth is, this hasn’t been about becoming more distant from myself. It’s been the opposite. It’s been about coming home. --- Oh to be chosen— not polished, not rehearsed, not softened at the edges to fit another’s comfort, but as I am in the quiet, unguarded truth of myself. To be seen beyo...
Read more

Inherited Shame

When I look back on my life, it is often with a sense of shame. A quiet, persistent feeling that no matter when, where, or who—it was always me. I was the common denominator. I was the one to blame. Inspired by a song of the Pet Shop Boys it's a sin. Music often speaks deeply to one's soul,  reflecting truths and emotions that remain buried in the subconscious until you recognise yourself within the lyrics. Another song that inspired this is Losing my religion by R.E.M.  Anthropology is the study of humans—how we live, think, evolve, and relate to each other across time and cultures. Music is one of form of art (also poetry and visual arts, that transcends across the human experience bringing emotional weight to otherwise plain lives. For a long time, I understood my life through that lens. Especially when I realised I was queer. I never chose this—this attraction to men. And it felt, for years, like something that set my life on a harder path than it needed to be. I imagined ...
Read more

On Being: Not Enough (And Learning Otherwise

 Some days it comes quietly. Not with accusation or drama—just a low, persistent whisper that settles somewhere in the background of my mind: You haven’t really done much. It’s a strange thought, because I know it isn’t true. If I take a moment to look back, I can see the shape of a life that has been anything but empty. I have been a father. A husband. A provider. I have led, I have mentored, I have stood in the gap for others when it mattered. I have shown up. And yet, the feeling lingers. I’ve come to realise that this voice doesn’t deal in facts. It measures something far less tangible—something closer to expectation than reality. Perhaps it’s the distance between who I once imagined I would become and who I see when I look at myself now. Not disappointment, exactly. Just… a quiet questioning. But if I’m honest, there is another truth that sits alongside that voice—one that is easier to overlook because it doesn’t announce itself as loudly. I didn’t live my life on the surface....
Read more