Trusting God in Tribulation

My wife Haley and I had just found out that I lost my job. This was a huge blow to us because I am the sole provider for our home, including our two small children. I remember Haley and I being really confused about what God was doing. We had a lot of questions and mixed emotions about what would be next for us.

I remember one of the dominate feelings was of fear. We were unsure about so many things: what would we do next, where would we go, would I be able to find another job, how will we pay the bills, will I be able to provide? These were some of the things that tried to dominate our internal world, and sometimes they did.

It was during this time that God began to speak to us about what would be next. I remember reading about the Israelite's in their exodus journey: how God had given them a promise and fulfilled that promise. Similar to the Israelite's, God had given us a promise that he would prosper us so that we could prosper others. It sure did not feel like that after loosing my job.

As I began reading through Exodus I realized that I had a vision problem--I was so focused on the immediate that I missed out on the immanent. I had to look beyond the immediate problem and begin to trust God at his word. Haley and I learned what it meant to trust and believe God's promises over our situations. I remember wrestling with this and sympathizing with the Israelite's as they said, "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?" (Exod 14:11).

Like Israel, God had given us a promise but everything was telling us that God was a liar. Much like Israel's complaint, I wondered why God had gotten our hopes up. But that's not the end of the story...

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. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. -Exodus 14:13-15

While Israel was complaining God was contemplating their victory. Likewise, while I did not understand God was urging us to trust him for his "salvation."  Eventually, Israel walks through the dry riverbed and beholds the destruction of Pharaoh's army behind them. God had delivered them, just as he said he would.

This marvelous story became an illustration of the power of God's goodness and promises. Much like Israel, Haley and I did not always process the journey well, but we learned how to trust God for the impossible when our backs were at a river and impending "death" was upon us. Over time, we would face many challenges and walk through our own dry river bed and experience the deliverance of the Lord.

The greatest take-away for us in this season was trust. We had to make a conscious decision to trust that God would establish us upon the mountain and not let us die in the valley. We learned to trust by fixing our vision on greater things (God's promises) and not the "valley walls." We refused to believe that God had destined us for destitute lives of hardship, obscurity, and unfruitful labor. The crazy thing is, as we began to trust God our lives began to change.

Trusting God allowed us to be joyful in tribulation, believe God without understanding exactly what was happening, and gain a bright vision for the future. We saw this Proverb (3:5-6) come true:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

We had no way, but we trusted God's way and he led us into a place that was beyond our own imagination. We are supremely blessed, not by our own doing, but because God has been gracious to us, just as he is being with you.