A crisis of belief. That moment when God has made His will clear, and has spoken about the direction you are to take as one of His Children. But the direction from God always leads us to do the difficult, and maybe even the impossible. God is leading you to do something that will only work if He comes through, and is calling you to respond with faith and obedience.
Moses understood what it meant to have a crisis of belief because he went to Pharoah when God commanded. David probably had a crisis of belief when he saw the huge Philistine giant named Goliath standing across the ravine blaspheming the name of God. Peter had one of those moments when Jesus looked him in the eye and told him to get out of the boat and walk on water. Jesus even had a crisis of belief when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane realizing that the cross was right ahead of Him.
Every person who knows Jesus Christ has times of crisis of belief. God calls us into a relationship with Him that requires faith and obedience. In that calling, God tells us to step out and do things that we could never do in our own power. At that moment, we must decide how we will respond to the voice of God.
I remember times when God spoke very clearly to me about things in my life that must be turned over to Him. I came up with every reason in the book to hold on to that which God was calling me to surrender. But I knew what God was telling me to do. I had to choose either to trust that God wanted the best for me and obey Him. Or choose my own way and loose my fellowship with God. I regret every decision I made to follow my own path, but rejoice for every time I choose to trust and obey.
God has offered to enter into a covenant relationship with the Hebrew people. He has brought them out of Egypt and has done the miraculous to prove His love and power to them. Now He has given His requirements. He has spoken through Moses to tell them what He expects of them, and how they must live to stay close to Him. This chapter represents the Hebrew people’s crisis of belief. Will they choose their own way, and journey through the wilderness on their own, or will they trust God and obey Him?
In this chapter, the Hebrews express their desire to trust and obey God. “All the words the Lord has said, we will do” was their response to God’s call. With their lips, they acknowledged that they were willing to respond to God. The sad fact though, the Hebrew people never really lived out the covenant to which they were agreeing. They never put feet to the faith and obedience they promised.
How has God spoken to you in the past days? What is He telling you to do? Have you responded with faith and obedience?