We want the sight of God rather than trusting in God's sight.

Psa 78:40,41

'How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!  Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. '

Freed from captivity after four hundred years of oppression, freed and they turned away from their deliverer. Freed and they tempt their deliverer. Freed and they limit the Holy One- their deliverer.  How like us to find freedom from oppression only to throw ourselves back into captivity because there is a familiarity to it, there is a sense of security. We often despise change, we don't like stepping out in faith because faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT SEEN. We want to SEE.  We want the sight of God rather than trusting in God's sight.  Faith is trusting in GOD'S SIGHT.  Faith is trusting God to see for us not seeing for ourselves. To walk out into the unknown, to take that step where your not sure of your footing, to move forward without familiar direction this means we HAVE to let go of our self assurance, let go of our planning, let go of our constant sight.

The people of Israel moved forward with hopes of instant gratification. They were freed and they expected that freedom to provide an instant home from their wandering. They knew they were leaving behind oppression and stepping out into freedom from the slave master's whip, but they didn't quite understand that by leaving all that behind they were stepping into a situation where they would have to have faith, where they would not be allowed to see where their next meal would come from where their next home would appear. Used to having a permanent dwelling, used to knowing where they would lay their head down at night. Used to the knowledge of where their source of drinking water would come from. Knowing how much meat they'd have.  These people where suddenly thrown into a situation that called for them to walk by faith. 

However, these people were only call to walk by faith AFTER they'd witnessed so many incredible miracles by their Deliverer that it wasn't really a blind faith. They had PROOF in those miracles that their Deliverer had the power to do all to save them. They had PROOF that if their Deliverer could set them free, He could sustain them.  They had FIRSTHAND knowledge of those miracles. They witnessed all of those miracles, each and every one.  When the plagues struck the Egyptians and spared the Israelites they KNEW it was only by a divine hand that they were keep safe.  They knew because there was NO other explanation.  That would be as if right now a plague struck all the people that didn't believe in God and spared all those who did.  It would puzzle our scientists, our health care profession, our most prestigious of medical scholars  that the ONLY difference in those who received the plague and those who didn't was their believe in God. You can just imagine how crazy they would be trying to find the common dominators for those who were spared. They'd want to make an antidote from them, they'd want to figure it out so they could save those who were dying of this plague, and yet you cannot make an antidote out of faith and inject those who choose not to believe.  The people who believed in God would have no choice but comprehend that God was sparing their lives.   It was the same for the Israelites and the Egyptians.  The Egyptians were dying right and left, the Egyptians goods were being destroyed, the Egyptians were falling ill, but the Israelites were not!  Finally the last plague was truly one of faith because all the Israelites were told to mark their doors so they would be sparred, and those who didn't do so were NOT spared even though they were Israelites.

Do you see? The Israelites were given SO much proof in their Deliverer's power to save and still when their habits of old were suddenly stripped from them, they lost faith. They had faith so long as things were going their way. If Moses had led them by God's hand directly into a new land complete with homes and such for them just to move into and begin their new lives they would not have had to cultivate any true faith in God at all. Faith that goes beyond sight, and that sight could be many, many years lacking.

It's true for us today that we must walk by faith because our Savior hasn't returned for us yet. We have to live our lives as HE has told us we must live them, in faith, in Him, living for HIM, not for ourselves and our selfish desire, our selfish needs.  How quick we are to hold fast to our cherished habits, our cherished familiarity rather than grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and live accordingly.

Psa 78:40,41

'How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!  Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. '

As they were called to walk by faith, they provoked Him, they grieved Him.  We provoke, we grieve God. We turn back and we tempt God, we LIMIT the Holy One of Israel as if HE COULD BE LIMITED and HE CANNOT BE!

Can we put any restrictions upon God's ability to do ANYTHING at all?!  No! NO!

We cannot say that ANYTHING is too hard for God, not one thing!

Gen_18:14  Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Jer_32:17  Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee

Jer_32:27  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Luk 18:27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Luk 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Job 42:2  I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

This is TRUTH.

We cannot dare to limit God's power in our lives to SAVE us. We have SALVATION through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior! We may think things all around us are in no way ready for salvation, but nothing is impossible with God and when the time is right He will make all things ready, even us! 

We live in the fire of temptations, we live in a battle fierce beyond any physical battle there ever was, we have a redeemer, a deliverer and HE will keep us safe for eternal life! He will keep us SAFE in HIM eternally. We must LIVE for that eternity with Him, not for the life we have now, but for the life we will have with Him, He is our HOPE, our EVERLASTING HOPE!

Please Father God, please keep us in YOU. Give us the faith we need to believe for eternity!  Keep us forever in YOU in all things. While we live here help us to live for YOU for eternity in You, let this be our hope, YOU.

All by the grace and mercy, the love of our SAVIOR, Jesus Christ!

Amen!