Is God The Source Of My Trouble?

Sometimes it may feel like God is causing our failures when He is really orchestrating our victory. In Exodus 5 Moses goes to Pharaoh thinking he would release the Israelites. However, it only angers Pharaoh and he increases their workload. The Israelite foremen confront Moses and Aaron as the cause of their troubles. Moses then goes to God and questions why God caused this defeat. In Exodus 6 God reassures Moses He is in control, and reaffirms that He will keep the promises He gave to their ancestors.

You most likely know how the story unfolds. Plagues come to Egypt finally culminating in the loss of every Egyptian first born son unless they marked their doors to be passed over. Finally, Pharaoh commands the Israelites to go.

Everything leads up to the crescendo of the Red Sea, with the Israelites leaving and the Egyptians pursuing them. God performs the ultimate miracle allowing the Israelites to escape on dry land through the sea and the Egyptians are washed away.

It is easy to dwell on the amazing things God just did, but let's not lose sight of some key things. The first being, God allowed a series of suffering for His people not to punish, but to refine them.

Suffering can either make us better or bitter. As we go through hard times we can either run to God or run as far away as we can. If we chose to run to Him, there is the reward of an intimacy that may not be able to be established any other way. When my toddler gets hurt, she runs to me. Now I don't want her to be hurt or have pain, but each time she runs to me and I am there, her trust in me increases. She knows I am a place of safety or protection.

Proverbs 18:10 says "The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Each time trouble comes, God is there as a fortified tower for us. When the next trouble comes looking for us, we already know God is on our side. We can trust Him and everything will ultimately be okay. God's hope is that we establish a pattern of trust and reliance on Him that becomes second nature to us. Trust in God becomes a reflex.

Lastly, God always thinks long term. The children of Israel grumbled when the last trial did not result in their freedom and so another one had to come. This is true of my life now. I have found myself thinking "I'm sure God won't let it get any worse than this! I'm about to be delivered! " Only my deliverance doesn't show up, but more hardship is knocking at my door. What I don't always see and what the Israelites didn't see was God was behind the scenes making preparations. Preparations not just for the next few days, but even for a generation ahead.

Case in point, the story of the walls of Jericho. When the spies entered Rahab's house remember her words to them. In Joshua 2:9-10 she says “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan,whom you completely destroyed."

By going through lengthy trials and tribulations instead of instantaneous deliverance, God set the Israelites up for a larger victory. They endured some pain, but the testimony of the power of the God they served surpassed where they were (Egypt) and spread to the surrounding nations. Before they even arrived at the next battle, the enemy was scared and defeated in spirit. Egypt was not to be the Israelites home, but God used Egypt to prepare them and pave the way for the promised land. When we allow God to refine us in our trials and come out victorious our next enemy or trial doesn't stand a chance. Our wilderness and valleys release and prepare the way for our promised land.

So is God the source of my trouble? Possibly yes, but not in the stand alone natural sense of that statement. I have to remind myself that God is not out to get me, crush me, defeat me, or torture me. He is interested in building the character, strength, resolve, and faith I need to get to the place He ultimately wanted me at all along. Unfortunately or fortunately, the best tool is through hardship. However God already assures us that He is our strong tower to flee, crawl, or run to.

I close with this piece of encouragement in Psalm 34:19 it says "The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time." God always has the end in place before the trouble begins! If we will hold tight to Him we always win.