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Windshield or Rearview Mirror?

After all that the followers of Moses had seen God do up until this point, you would think their faith would be sky-high. They should have been in awe of God, trusting Him with every nuance of life after witnessing the plagues, and seeing God’s domination of the little-g gods of Egypt and Pharaoh’s magicians.

They began strong, but their faith didn’t last long. They were marching out boldly, but as Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 

Marching boldly in one moment, terrified in the other. We can’t throw the Israelites under the bus with the other “scaredy cats” of the Bible, because we can relate all too well. Our faith is often as weak and forgetful. God does so much for us, and we still nervously wonder if He will continue to help. Our moment of boldness becomes a thousand tiny terrors. We are prayed up and desire to share our faith, but when the opportunity arrives, an awkward silence is followed by, “How’s the weather?” We are enthusiastic about a service opportunity or a new Bible study class, and then never follow through because of the tyranny of the urgent tasks of the day. 

What made the change in the celebratory freedmen of Israel? Opposition. When they saw the enemy on their tail, they freaked. The view before them—the windshield—displayed the physical pillar of cloud of God’s leadership. But behind them, the rearview mirror showed powerful men in chariots. Which way will you look? Forward or back? “Let’s roll” is windshield talk. “Let’s run” is rearview mirror talk. 

When opposition comes, you are ripe for a miracle if you choose the windshield view of God’s leading. Our sandaled friends focused first on the rearview mirrored chariots, resulting in complaints and a strange nostalgia for past slavery! They told Moses to leave them alone and wondered aloud if the entire reason for their journey was a shortage of graves in Egypt. Here’s the principle at work: When we encounter opposition on the path, the bad ol’ days seem like the good ol’ days. Slavery is preferable to freedom because slavery is a known commodity. Worry is more familiar than faith, and pride is more natural than humility, so we drift. The old ways and former comrades are recognizable, while trusting God for the new seems lonely and strange.

If you want to get Gregg Matte’s book, Finding God’s Will, please visit: http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/finding-god-s-will/358282