Is God personal to you? Do you know Him intimately? Do you spend one-on-one time with Him regularly? If not, you will distrust Him when tough times come.

As I was reading Exodus, I was struck by two very different responses to the same event by two different people. When the Israelites were being chased by the Egyptian army, the Israelites reacted with fear and complaints. However, Moses reacted with faith and reassurance. (Exodus 14:11-14)

Why these two different reactions by these two peoples? It’s not that the Israelites haven’t seen the miracles that Moses saw. They BOTH witnessed all the miracles that God performed in front of them and the Egyptians (the ten plagues). So, why the distrust of God by the Israelites when they faced a new obstacle when Moses, on the other hand, trusted God?

Moses had a personal relationship with God. The Israelites didn’t.

The Israelites saw God and His power from afar. But He wasn’t personal to them. They didn’t know God on a personal level. He was someone out there to be feared. But He wasn’t someone in here to be loved.

So, I ask again, do you know God personally? Have you experienced Him talking to you? Have you done something that didn’t make sense to anyone, including yourself, because God directed you?

Unless God is personal to you, you will distrust Him when tough times come. However, that tough time might very well be God’s way of bringing you to be personal with Him.

Desire and seek this personal relationship. Once you know Him, you will want to seek Him more.

PH