LIONS, TIGERS and BEARS (A Daily Devotion)

While listening to this song and hearing Jazmine Sullivan singing about being afraid of truly loving her man, it made me think how many of us feel that way when it comes to God! Of course we don't come across Lion, Tigers and Bears in real life but how many of us are not afraid of the dangers we face day to day but yet trusting in God scares us to death!

As Pharaoh and his army approached, the people of Israel could see them in the distance, marching toward them. The people began to panic and they cried out to the Lord for help. Then they turned against Moses and complained, "Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave?" - Exodus 14:10-11

Trust often requires courage. When trapped against the sea, the Israelites faced the Egyptian army coming in for the kill. Basically the Israelites thought it was lights out, game over, they were about to die. After watching God's powerful hand deliver them from Egypt, their response was still fear, whining and despair. Where was their trust in God?

Israel had to learn from repeated experiences that God was able to provide for them. How many times have you gone through trials and tribulations and began to worry, stress and panic. We complain about what we are goin' through to anyone who will listen instead of just trusting in GOD. Then GOD gets you through but the next trial and tribulation you face you still worry, stress and panic again. We tend to suffer from bouts of selective amnesia even after seeing that God has always brought you through everything you ever faced in the past!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Are you not afraid of the preverbal Lions, Tigers and Bears in your life but you are still scared of loving and trusting the LORD? This is backwards, because in trusting and loving GOD we won't have to fear what we face in the world. A pastor once said to the congregation,

"When you go to sit down in a chair or the pew?! Do you stop and examine it first? No you just sit down without thinking and trust the chair, pew, couch or whatever will hold you! When you go out in the morning do you look over your car, pop the hood and check the engine before starting it? No you put the key in and trust it will start!" Then he went on to ask the congregation, "Why are you so scared and you find it so hard to trust God like that?

The only person who can truly be trusted! The only one who will never leave you or forsake you. Never let you down. Never desert you. Never turn His back on you when we often do that to Him!

God has preserved these examples in the Bible so that we can learn to trust him the first time! By focusing on God's faithfulness in the past, we can face crises with confidence, rather than fear and complaining.