What happens when we doubt where God has placed us?
Discouraged, we open a dangerous door for the enemy to wreck havoc on our relationship with God. From there, a tendril of doubt takes root which Satan devises to war against us: disappointment.
Discouragement—>Doubt—> Disappointment
Discouraged in our present circumstances, we doubt God is working on our behalf, and become disappointed in the outcome. Disappointment occurs because we receive an answer we weren’t looking for, or reject God’s will in a direction we didn’t want to go.
In our disappointed state, we might look for a place or person to blame. Consequently, we may prop the burden of our life’s disappointments upon God and propose thoughts that God didn’t come through for us.
•Because He wants to withhold something good from us.
•Because He has His own agenda.
•Because He’s abandoned us.
•Because He doesn’t love us.
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We have mental lists of things we desire in our vision for the future. In relationships we are in or want to have. In our public, personal, and private endeavors. But what happens when we encounter unrealized dreams or unmet expectations in these areas? We experience discouragement, then doubt, and finally disappointment like the Israelites.
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The Israelites endured 400 years of slavery under Egypt’s rule. 400 years of bondage. 400 years of waiting for deliverance. Finally, Moses comes to lead them out of Egypt.
Moses seeks to reassure the Israelites with these words: “The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
God uses Moses to lead them through the Red Sea. But then, the Israelites vitriolicly protest about their hunger.
”The whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. ‘If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt.’ There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.’” Exodus 16:2-3
Dwelling in discouragement, they begin to second-guess God’s hand in their lives. They are famished. God isn’t coming through for them. Where is the food? Where is the meat? Where is the bread? Where is the good stuff to eat? Where is the good life? This was “worse” than living in Egypt!
Unmet expectations lead to doubt in God’s promises and provisions…..which can result in disappointment of God’s plans for our future.
Unfortunately, the Israelites had completely forgotten all about the previous and power-filled miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. Like them, we can fall into this same trap of total memory lapse of God’s faithfulness in our journey with Him across our own Red Sea.
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So what ways can we counter discouragement, doubt, and disappointment from keeping us from crossing the red seas of our lives?
•By remembering God’s faithfulness in leading us up to this point.
•By recalling how God has delivered us before.
•By reclaiming the divine interventions in our lives.
•By giving thanks to God for our freedom from strongholds the enemy (Egypt) has ensnared us in.
Remember, the Red Sea is bigger than any doubt satan can ever throw at us. Remember. Recall. Reclaim. Give thanks. Put this on repeat this until it becomes the Real Truth in your life.