Trusting God in the In-between - Exodus 16:1-18
Studying at Nazarene Bible College puts us in a place that’s between where we were before we enrolled and where we’re headed once we graduate. So, it’s important for us to acknowledge that being “in-between” is a challenging place to be.
Where we’re headed is the place of our dreams, our aspirations. It is the place where we will fulfill God’s call on our lives. It is the place where, as one writer put it, “. . . our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need” (Buechner). Where we’re headed is the place we want to be – but we’re not there yet.
We’re in the in-betweens - somewhere in the middle of where we were and where we’re headed. And the uncertainty that comes while we’re in-between can affect our ability to trust.
I came across a quote a while back that helps me here. Elton Trueblood wrote: “Faith is not belief without proof but is trust without reservation.” That’s worth reading again: “Faith is not belief without proof but is trust without reservation.”
Exodus 16 tells the story of a time when the children of Israel were in-between. They needed nourishment and encouragement and were running out of both. They remembered the familiarity of where they had been and longed for the dream of where they were headed. But they weren’t in either place. They were in the desert, they were running out of food, and they weren’t sure what to do.
We could spend a long-time comparing Israel’s situation with our own. We could draw analogies about the Israelites being in the wilderness and the adjustments we go through because we feel like strangers in a strange land. We could even try to relate the weight of their tents as they walk through the desert to the homework we do and the assignments we complete. But that’s not the point of the story.
The point of the story is that as God leads, God provides. God makes a way for those who are following His leading. God can be trusted to help us get to the end of our journey in the same way we trusted Him when we began our sojourn. How do we know? God sent the quail.
Trust Him in the in-betweens.
By: Dr. Alan D. Lyke, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Published: 06/10/2019
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