Losing Control, Finding Trust: Lessons from the Israelites

In this episode of 'Steps to Trusting', host Erin Michele discusses the common frustration of disrupted plans and how to trust God in challenging circumstances. Through biblical stories of the Israelites in Exodus 14, 15, and 17, Erin highlights the importance of shifting our trust from our circumstances to God. She emphasizes the significance of turning to God with our frustrations and relying on His provision. Key takeaways include the need to refocus on God's presence during tough times, the value of prayer in seeking guidance, and the assurance that God is with us even when our plans don't succeed.

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Connect with Erin Michele Smith at www.erinmichele.net

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00:00 Welcome to Steps to Trusting

00:23 A Story of Changed Plans

01:44 Trusting God Over Circumstances

02:20 Lessons from the Israelites

03:43 The Parting of the Red Sea

06:00 Bitter Waters Made Sweet

07:17 Water from the Rock

09:16 Invitation to Trust in God

14:37 A Prayer for Trust

15:31 Final Encouragement and Farewell

Transcript

Losing Control, Finding Trust: Lessons from the Israelites

Circumstances 1

[00:00:00] Erin Michele: Hi, welcome to Steps to Trusting. I'm Erin Michele, your host. At Steps to Trusting, it's my goal to meet you where you are in your faith journey and to encourage you to continue to take steps to trusting the Lord more fully. On the last episode, we talked about people pleasers and the problem with putting our trust in people. I want to look at when we put our trust in our circumstances. And today I'm going to start with a story too. Story is one that might seem familiar to many of you. It starts like this. I had a plan for what my day was going to look like and what I was going to do with the time that I had. And then all of my plans changed. Because, one of the people in my family needed me to do something different and let the day go differently.

[00:00:48] Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever felt like, Oh yes, this is the day that I'm going to get to do the thing I've wanted to do for so long. But instead that was the day that there was a sick kid or a doctor's appointment or an unexpected errand that you had to run.

[00:01:06] This happens to us all the time. For me, when this happened to me recently, I really felt the anger inside me rising, and I just had this feeling that it feels like every time I have something big planned, something like this happens. I just feel like so often when I have a plan and something I want to focus in on that, that plan changes because of other things that need to happen, whether it be again, something with our family or something with a ministry, I need to take care of or something at work that comes up.

[00:01:44] So in that, in that place of frustration, where I have been recently, and I imagine you have felt before in your life, in that place of frustration, I need to be reminded that my trust is not in my circumstances. My trust is not in how things go through the day and if they go perfectly or according to my plan, or if my day is completely changed by a different plan, and different expectations.

[00:02:17] As we're thinking about that, I wanted to look at some scriptures. And first I'm just going to talk to you guys a little bit about the Israelites. I think I've said here on the podcast before in my childhood, I used to look at the Israelites and think, why can't they learn?

[00:02:33] They just keep doing the same thing over and over. And pretty much, I remember thinking like, why are they so stupid? And then as an adult, I had this moment where I sat back and I realized I'm an Israelite. I do the same thing over and over. And I think when things don't go according to my plan, I realized that maybe I was putting some of my trust in my circumstances instead of God.

[00:03:01] And that when I realize I'm putting my trust in my circumstances, it is an opportunity for me to, refocus and to turn back to the Lord and to reinstate my trust in who He is. And what he's doing. We are going to quick look at the Israelites. They have this pattern. Like I said, that I realized as a, as a child where they are constantly see there's like a stressor in front of them. And then they're like, Oh no, what are we going to do? This circumstance is really hard.

[00:03:35] And then God shows up and this is a pattern. And so I'm just going to look really quickly with you guys at some of these. You may be familiar already with one of the first ones we're going to look at, which is in Exodus 14. And it's the parting of the Red Sea. So I'm just going to set the stage for you. If you don't know the story of the Exodus, I recommend you go back and look at it. We're going to be starting in Exodus 14, but what has already happened is the Israelites were captive in Israel and all the plagues happened and they finally go free from their captivity and as they're escaping, they find themselves between the Red Sea and the Egyptians that decided, what did we do?

[00:04:22] Why did we let them go? So they're now being chased. In Exodus 14 verse 12, it says. Is this not what we said to you in Egypt to leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. And Moses said to the people, fear not, stand firm, see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

[00:04:52] The Lord will fight for you. You have only to be silent.

[00:04:57] There's this place in the middle where. The circumstances look really bad. They look really stuck and Moses is calling them here in these verses to trust in the Lord, not to trust in their circumstance, but to trust in the Lord. You may know the story already, but in Exodus 14 verse 21, it says then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord drove back the sea by the strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided and the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground.

[00:05:35] The water's being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. God is working in our circumstances. And I just, when I look at this passage, I think of the fact that God made a way where there was no way. It looked like the circumstances were a failure. It looked like the Israelites were in major trouble, but God made a way for them. I want to look at another circumstance where the Israelites were tempted to look at their circumstance and be overwhelmed. And it's in Exodus 15 in verse 22, it starts talking about how they couldn't find any water and then they find water and it's bitter so they can't drink it. And in verse 24 it says the people grumbled against Moses saying, what shall we drink? They grumble to Moses and they see no answer.

[00:06:28] But Moses is the one who has the faith and it says in verse 25, he cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a log and he threw it into the water and the water became sweet and the people were able to drink the water. This makes me think about circumstances. When we look at them and we think our circumstances are bitter, what we have is bitter and we think, what are we going to do with the circumstance?

[00:06:52] How is this going to be good for us? How is this going to provide for our needs? And so we feel like there is no hope. Because we can't trust our circumstance to give us what we need. But again, our trust is not in our circumstances. I think it's so beautiful that Moses asks God, what do I do? And here, God changes the circumstances. He changes the. The water and he shows them the way God continues to provide for the Israelites I'm going to skip ahead and chapter 17. They don't have what they need. The circumstance is that they have no water. They can't find water this time. It's not bitter water. It's no water. And y'all know that we have a need for water. 

[00:07:42] erin-michele_2_09-11-2024_091936: The circumstance is that it looks bleak. It looks like there's no provision for something that they need. And the people grumble. To Moses in Exodus 17 verse two, it says, therefore, the people quarreled with Moses and said, give us water to drink. And Moses said to them, why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord? But the people thirsted there for water and the people grumbled against Moses and said, why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us?

[00:08:11] And our children and our livestock with thirst. So Moses cried to the Lord, what shall I do with this people? Moses's reaction was not to trust in the circumstance or think that because the circumstance didn't have something to offer, that God couldn't provide. He asks God, what should I do?

[00:08:33] erin-michele_1_09-11-2024_090238:  Moses, he doesn't look at the circumstance. Moses allows the circumstance to not invite him to quarrel or complain, but to invite him to cry out to the Lord.

[00:08:48] erin-michele_2_09-11-2024_091936: And God gives him instructions. In verse six, he says, behold, I will stand before you on the rock at Horeb and you shall strike the rock and water shall come out of it and the people will drink. Moses allows God to be his provision. Again, he doesn't look at his circumstance. Sometimes this is easier to see when our circumstances are challenging than when our circumstances go perfectly. And that story in those moments that I mentioned in the beginning that I think a lot of us share. When our plan doesn't look like we want it or doesn't have what we need, or there's something that we need that we don't know how we're going to find it or have it. Those moments, invite us to something. And sometimes we take the invitation to grumble, to complain like the Israelites did.

[00:09:43] But we could be like Moses and let that invitation cause us to cry out to him, to talk to him, to ask him, what do we do? And I think this is interesting here too, because when the Israelites couldn't trust their circumstances, they think, okay, what's the next thing we can trust in? And they turn to Moses. 

[00:10:07] erin-michele_3_09-11-2024_092925: The circumstances weren't trustworthy, so they thought, let's go to Moses. And that reminds me of our conversation for the last podcast. If you haven't listened to that, I encourage you to go back and listen to that. But that is a reminder that we can't trust in man, but that our trust should be secure in God.

[00:10:27] And so I just love this example that when. Moses's circumstances are not something that he can trust to provide what he needs. His first reaction is to pray and to cry out to the Lord. And when you look at Moses's prayer, it's simple and it's honest. He just says, what shall I do with these people? And he says the truth of where he is. They are ready to stone me. Moses's circumstances are that He can't provide what the people need.

[00:10:58] The people aren't finding what they need in their circumstances. And Moses knows that God can provide. So he goes to him. He turns his heart to trust in the Lord, to let his trust be the Lord. And God gives him instructions. I love that in verse six, he says, behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb. He's reminding Moses of his presence. And he says, you shall strike the rock. And water shall come out of it and the people will drink and then this, this happened all of these circumstances that we look at today, first, when it seemed like there was no way or what was provided was bitter or that it seemed like there was no provision friends, when we feel like our circumstances can't give us what we need, it is an invitation. 

[00:11:51] Where will you let that invitation lead you? Will you be like the Israelites who look to all the people around them to try and fix it, or they complain about , how God has abandoned them because they can't see him. Or will you be like Moses who cries out to the Lord, who turns his heart to God and realizes that he is what we need, not circumstances to provide, but that we need him. 

[00:12:18] erin-michele_4_09-11-2024_101140: I do this so very imperfectly. When circumstances don't go my way, very often. My first instinct is to want to complain, to be grumpy, and to grumble. Because this is the truth. I need God to change me. I need God to speak to my heart, to say, trust me. I'm still with you in this. A friend mentioned very recently about Psalm 23, where it says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. And she really spiked out that we're walking through a challenge that challenges not forever.

[00:13:03] But when we feel like we are in that challenge, God is still with us. He's with us. As we walk through it, we won't be there forever. Circumstances will change, but God is with us. Even in the midst of them, we can trust him. Even when our circumstances are not what we desire. 

[00:13:21] erin-michele_3_09-11-2024_092925: There's one more verse I want to read to you guys and it's from Exodus 14 Right after God parted the sea, and it says Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

[00:13:42] Moments that are circumstances don't go as we wanted are moments that allow us to see The greatness of God to see his great power, to see what he is doing that we could not do that circumstances cannot provide. I want my circumstances to go the way that I want them to go very often, but I want to be reminded over and over that God is the one who provides for my needs.

[00:14:11] Not just that life goes smoothly and so I can provide for myself blessing is from God. When circumstances go as we desire, when we have plenty and abundance, that is a gift from God. And when we don't have plenty and abundance, that is a time that we can look to God and see how He provides for us, how he shows up. 

[00:14:37] Thanks for joining me today. I wanna pray for us all. Dear God, I pray that you would help us to not look to our circumstances to provide what we need, Lord, but in our circumstances when they seem challenging or go a different way than we desired, or that they are in more than we can bear. Lord, I pray that you would help us to turn to you.

[00:14:57] That we would pray to you in our need and in the honest feelings and circumstances that we stand in God and that we would let you be our provider, that we would be reminded of the power and greatness of who you are. Thank you that you care about us. Thank you that you allow us to cry out to you, Lord.

[00:15:18] Lord, I pray that you would help our trust to be in you, not in other people. Not in our circumstances, Lord, but that our trust would be in you and it's in Jesus name that I pray. Amen. 

[00:15:31] This podcast is the truth that I needed to hear today. I needed to be reminded that when my circumstances are not as I desire, that the first thing I should do is turn to the Lord, that I should put my trust in him, not in my ability to change the circumstances, nor should it be to complain that my circumstances are not as I please, but that my first response should be to cry out to God who cares.

[00:16:00] He cares about my heart. He cares about what I'm walking through and he is there with us, friend, I pray that that encourages you today I encourage you the next time you face a circumstance that is not as you desire or where you find that you may be having lack. I encourage you to look at where that invites you and to look at your response.

[00:16:26] You've turned to the Lord and let him be your hope and your trust 

[00:16:31] friends. 

[00:16:31] Thank you for joining me today. If this conversation was a blessing to you, I ask if you would share it with a friend and talk about it with them.

[00:16:40] Talking about truths with our friends helps us grow in our faith. We want to be people that point others to the hope and love of Jesus.  

[00:16:51] I hope that you join us back here next time. But until then, I wanted to leave you with this reminder from Ephesians 2 10, for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

[00:17:04] Friend. I'm praying for you as you keep on stepping.