Stuck: How God Moves When We Feel StuckНамуна

"The Lord says, 'During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.'" - Deuteronomy 29:5

Remember Joseph from yesterday? It’s a long story, but Joseph’s family ended up becoming really big (the end of Genesis and beginning of Exodus explains more). By this point, Joseph and all his brothers had passed away, but their descendants grew into a huge group of people. They were called the Israelites. They lived in the country of Egypt, but the Egyptian king was worried the Israelites would take over the country – so he enslaved them for years.

Eventually, God freed His people, the Israelites, and led them out of captivity, promising them a beautiful land for them to live in.

It’s a wild story of God’s faithfulness and power, and today we’re picking up after the Israelites were freed from Egypt. At this point, they had been following their leader Moses in the wilderness for about two months.

They were sick and tired of walking. Once they had been stuck in Egypt, now they felt stuck again in the wilderness! And they were really hungry. Scholars estimate there were around 2.5 million Israelites in the exodus from Egypt. That’s 2.5 million hungry people!

They told Moses they wished God had killed them in Egypt. They felt as though they were facing the prospect of starving to death. They were hopeless and hungry.

God heard their cries and provided food for them. They couldn’t go to a grocery store in the wilderness – so God gave them food by literally raining down bread from the sky. Each morning the people could go out and collect as much bread as they wanted for that day.

God did this for the people each day for 40 years. They never once ran out of food to eat. Their clothes never got tattered. After 40 years of walking, their shoes never even had holes! God continually provided for all of their needs.

In the midst of you feeling stuck, how have you seen God provide for you? When we cultivate a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, we can see our lives with fresh eyes and notice God’s provision in every situation.

Take a few moments to write a gratitude list and thank God for all He has given you.