Source of Hope

Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?  Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?  Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’?  For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians that to die in the wilderness.”  But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear!  Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”

When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses. Exodus 14:11-13, 30

Upon what do I base my trust in the Lord?  What I have seen, or what I know about who He is?  Moses’ hope was in God’s character.  The Israelites, though, only truly feared the Lord after they had seen Him accomplish something fantastic.

If my hope in the Lord only goes from one miracle or great act to another, then every time things begin to look threatening, I will doubt and complain again just as the Israelites did.  But, if my hope is based on the fact that God knows me, has allowed me to know Him, and is for me, then even when the threats arise I will still have hope as did Moses.

There are so many times when I allow my circumstances and physical condition to dictate my attitude.  I am challenged to not be like the Israelites and only be a fair weather follower.  I am challenged to maintain my hope in who God is.  The same God who overthrew the Egyptian army in one fell swoop defends me as well to His own honor and glory.  Whether there is a miracle or not, He is for me and in Him I have hope!