Have you ever felt like you have tried trusting God and things only got worse? Moses certainly did in today’s reading in Exodus. What did he do as a result and what can we learn from his response?

Proverbs has so much wisdom for us all but today’s reading from Proverbs 5 contains truths that, if heeded, can keep young men, in particular, from a lifetime of heartache and financial struggles. 

And finally, from Matthew 18, we’ll talk about the seriousness of unforgiveness and its effect on our relationship with God.

Welcome to Soul Survival where I blog through the Bible in a Year along with Bible studies and other Christian living posts. This year I’ve added a couple of new features. First, check out the “Free Resources” tab at the top. You’ll find a downloadable, printable PDF with “Going Deeper Study Questions” for each Bible in a Year post. And … this year I’m also reading through the Bible on YouTube. You can check out my channel here. The daily emails now have a link to both the Soul Survival posts and the YouTube videos. I hope you’ll sign up.

Today’s Readings:

Exodus 5 & 6
Psalm 16.7-11
Proverbs 5.7-14
Matthew 18.21-35

When You Try Trusting God & Things Get Worse

Exodus 5 & 6:

A Lot Worse!

Perhaps you’ve been there. You surrendered your life to God or you made a decision to turn and go God’s way in some area or you stepped out in faith trusting God. And then things started to go wrong!

I wonder if Moses felt the same way. He had returned to Egypt to do what God had told him to do … from a burning bush no less.

But when he and his brother, Aaron, went to Pharaoh to demand he let the people go, things didn’t turn out so well! In fact, things got worse! A lot worse (Ex. 5.1-9)!

You might be thinking, “Well, at least God warned Moses and told him that things would eventually work out.”

That’s true, but He has, actually, told us the same thing:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8.28-29).

That verse assures us that during those times we can keep trusting God because He’s working everything out for our good and His glory.

But if we’re going continue trusting God when faced with painful trials, we must know some things.

The Good

Even when we know God promises to use all things for good, it’s hard for us to understand how that’s possible when it doesn’t look or feel good. But look again at verse 29. The good we often don’t see is the molding and shaping He’s doing to conform us to the image of His Son.

James said it this way:

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (Jas. 1.2-4).

No one wants to go through hardship for nothing but we can rejoice in knowing that God’s purpose is not to hurt us but to perfect and mature us.

His Promise to Those Trusting God

God through the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10.13).

“… that you may be able to bear it.” He’ll give us all the grace we need. Even if things get worse before they get better, we can know that God won’t allow a trial to be greater than we can handle if we keep trusting Him and respond in godly ways.

A Spiritual Battle

We should remember that we are in a spiritual battle (2 Cor. 10.3-4). But we don’t have to fight through the hard times on our own or even in our own strength. We can pray and rely on the Holy Spirit:

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Rom. 8.26-27).

So instead of giving up, we can keep trusting God knowing that He is at work strengthening us and working on our behalf.

God is Good

Another reason we can keep trusting God is that God is good (1 Chron. 16.34; Ps. 145.9) and that all His plans for us are good (Jer. 29.11).

So, when we’re struggling and when trusting God is hard, let’s remember these 4 things.

4 Things to Remember When Trusting God is Hard

1. God can and will use all things for good.
2. It’s a spiritual battle but we’re not in it alone.
3. God won’t give us more than we can handle if we keep our eyes on Him and respond His way.
4. God is good, holy, and perfect; we can trust Him, even when things seem to get worse.

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 16.7-11:

Fullness of Joy

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (v. 11).

Part of the deceitfulness of sin is its offer of pleasure—thoughts of “I deserve this” or “God knows that my needs are not being met so He will understand.” But the pleasure that it offers, while real, is momentary and ultimately unsatisfying.

The adulterous affair which seemed so alluring yields hurt, anger, rebellious children, financial ruin, guilt, and regret.

The unforgiveness which we fuel by constantly replaying the event in our minds and justifying our feelings, only yields anger, bitterness, and the loss of any intimacy with God.

The way or path of the transgressor gets hard (Prov. 13.15), but the way or path that God offers through obedience to His Word is the path to real joy and pleasures forevermore!

Proverbs 5.7-14:

Choices & Consequences, Especially for Young Men

Yesterday (“Parenting Teens on Sexual Issues”) we looked at the first part of Proverbs 5 and here in these verses, Solomon continues to warn young men (and all of us) about the dangers of getting involved in sexual immorality.

In verses 8-9, he says:

Remove your way far from her [the immoral woman], and do not go near the door of her house.

We shouldn’t think we can play around with these things:

Lest you give your honor to others and your years to the cruel one (v. 9).

Some people waste years that could have been spent serving God on partying and immoral living and its consequences. How many young men have had their college careers cut short to support a family prematurely?

Lest aliens be filled with your wealth and your labors go to the house of a foreigner” (v. 10).

I’ve seen my share of young men paying child support, sometimes for several children, and sometimes to more than one woman because they fathered two or three children before they were even out of their teens. So for much of their lives, the state will be standing there to take its share of their paycheck and will send it “to the house of an alien”—the mother and step-father who are raising his children.

Please don’t misunderstand me. That’s what should happen. If a man (or even a boy) fathers a child, he should be supporting that innocent child. But we need to warn our boys from God’s Word that these things are the consequences of ungodly living.

And what about the girls, our daughters, who end up married too soon to someone who didn’t value her purity or have any interest in the things of God, all because she chose to follow the path of sexual immorality? What about the desperate girls who end up at abortion clinics out of fear or confusion and end up suffering a lifetime of guilt and regret?

Not About Condemnation

This is not about condemnation. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Rom. 3.23). I commend girls (and their boyfriends) who choose life for their babies. I commend young people who try to do the right thing whether that means getting married or being faithful to support their children. And I commend step-parents who choose to love and care for children who aren’t theirs biologically. But we must love our children enough to warn them, as Solomon did his son a few thousand years ago, with God’s Word as our authority, that choices have consequences!

If you have made these kinds of mistakes, and you have repented and are living for God, Romans 8.28-29 is still true. He can bring good out of your sin and even the sins others have committed against you.

And if your child is caught up in some kind of immorality, talk to them. Show them the truth from God’s Word and pray that God will open their eyes and draw them unto Himself. Pray that he or she will surrender to Him and seek His grace and forgiveness.

You might want to read:

“Parenting: Why Consequences for Wrong Behavior Are Important”

Also, Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp and Getting a Grip by Lou Priolo are two excellent resources for teens and their parents. I highly recommend them both.

Matthew 18.21-35:

Forgiving Others

Earlier I spoke about unforgiveness leading to a loss of intimacy with God. This passage includes one of the clearest parables about the seriousness of unforgiveness. If you are struggling to forgive someone, go back and reread this passage. Ask God to help you see the magnitude of the debt for which He forgave you and to give you the grace to forgive “your fellow servant.”

Prayer:

Perhaps, you might like to pray this with me:

Lord, please help us to be bold in speaking the truth in love to our children and others You have placed in our paths. Help us to do so humbly and gently, each one looking to ourselves lest we also be tempted (Gal. 6.1-2). Help us to forgive those who have hurt or disappointed us, to see our own sinfulness, to be focused on pleasing You rather than holding on to some perceived right to be angry. Open our eyes, Lord, and let us see the deceitfulness of sin and not be lured down a path that leads to destruction and heartache, in Jesus name, Amen.

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we’ll talk about how we might be sleeping with frogs, how journaling can help us in our relationships with God and others, and how whining affects our lives.

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. And if you know someone who would benefit from this post, please share it with them and on your favorite social media outlet.

Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Prayer Helps

Do you ever struggle with prayer? Do you sometimes feel it’s just one more thing on your to-do list or that you don’t measure up in this area? Me, too, but these are some of the strategies that I’ve learned through the years that have helped me have a more consistent and meaningful prayer life.

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer. 

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.