Getting It. Remembering It.

And Israel looked at the Egyptian dead, washed up on the shore of the sea, and realized the tremendous power that God brought against the Egyptians. The people were in reverent awe before God and trusted in God and his servant Moses.
Exodus 14:31, MSG*

The people finally get it. They’ve seen God in action: the ten plagues that broke Egypt, and now the dramatic parting of the Red Sea and destruction of the Egyptian army.

How else could they respond but in worship and reverent awe? And by trusting this God and the man He chose as their leader?

They get it. They truly get it.

I’m sad that it doesn’t last long. Before the end of the next chapter, they’re complaining there’s no safe drinking water. (Exodus 15:24) As if the God who’s leading them might have run out of resources.

And how about us? God connects with us in a personal way. We know He’s real, our spirits respond in worship and reverent awe. We trust Him.

Those are the best moments of our lives. But they don’t last.

The feelings fade. That’s disappointing, but we don’t live by feelings. We live by faith, or at least we’re called to. In trust. In reverent awe. In worship.

We don’t want to drift apart from God any more than the Israelites did. Living on this side of the Cross, Christians have the Holy Spirit in us, a closer and more intimate connection with God. You’d think we’d stay close.

He shouldn’t have to keep calling us back like He did the people of Israel.

Isn’t it good that He does it, though? He doesn’t just dust off His hands and walk away. He loves us, and He woos us back.

God our Saviour, patient and abundant in mercy, forgive us for the many ways we let ourselves get distracted from You. Draw us close to You, and teach us to keep looking at You in love and awe. We’re incomplete apart from You, and unable to be Your light in the world. Grow us in faithfulness and in truth, into the children You’ve designed us to be.

May our prayer be “Draw Me Close to You,” sung here by Michael W. Smith

*The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

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