Are We Trusting In God or Man's Systems?

I hear many Christians say they trust in God. We sing songs about it at church, and many of us can quote scripture verses about it. But does that make it true? Can we stop and think about where we really and truly place our trust?

We recently did an interview with Jeff Lerner, and there were a lot of good thoughts to chew on. Jeff talked a lot about the lies we've been told and bought into about how to have success and prosper in life. What we typically might refer to as the “American Dream.” Maybe what we were told by our culture and the 'powers that be' used to be true. But is it still true today? What are we gaining or losing by following the societal norms? And is there a better path God has for us?

In ancient Egypt, the Hebrews were originally treated very well. They lived in Goshen which had some of the most fertile land in Egypt. They grew plenty of good crops. They lived in what were considered very nice homes at that time. They had safety and stability. Scripture says they multiplied and their numbers grew. Exodus 1:6-7says, “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.”

They had a great life set-up. God blessed them with families growing and thriving. What more could you ask for? But as generations passed, and people started forgetting the past, it says, “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.” The Egyptians no longer were grateful for Joseph and his family helping save them from starvation. As we keep reading we read, “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor,” and “the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.”

It seems the Israelites, even though greater in number, accepted this. We don't see them fight back or stand up for themselves. They seem to accept these new harsh laws of governance. It even got so bad, that Pharaoh started ordering the Israelite newborn boys to be killed. Exodus 1:22, “Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Did the Israelites rise up at this time and say, “Enough is enough?” No, it doesn't seems so.

They bought into and 'trusted in' Pharaoh's system so much, that they even let their children be sacrificed. Even though they outnumbered the Egyptians, they allowed this great travesty to take place.

However, we do read of one woman, with enough faith, to not listen to Pharaoh. Instead, she chose to listen to God. And he gave her wisdom in how to save her child. This child was Moses.

“Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”  Exodus2:1-3

It's boggling to think that as generations went on, the Hebrews started assimilating more to the societal structures of Egypt. And they started to forget about God. Or at least, stopped putting trust in Him. They just followed man's system as they were told. And they suffered greatly for it. Yes, they still had their houses and fertile land. But at what cost? Is it worth harsh lives of slavery filled with toil? Is it worth the expense of losing their children?

Do we do the same things as the Israelites? Are we buying into the world systems of today? If so, at what cost? It seems that generation after generation we have slowly given into what the governing powers that be and what the media and society have told us to do and believe. We've become slaves, but the worst part is, we don't even know it. We think because we have a nice house and piece of land that we're rich, but we don't realize that we're really miserable, poor, blind and naked.

'Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,'  Revelation3:17

Who are we really putting our trust in? If we really believe God and trust in Him, would our actions look different from the people of the world's system? Are we providing paths for our children to prosper in life spiritually and naturally? Or are we letting them be sacrificed by continuing to accumulate more and more debt, and leaving them without real inheritance because it all gets taxed away? Are we making their lives seemingly impossible to thrive? Or are we listening to God for new and unique ways to let them live and grow into who He has called them to be? Even if it looks strange to everyone else.

Moses was still put into the Nile with the other children. He was still among the crocodiles to get eaten like the other baby boys. But Moses was protected in an ark God created for Him. Just like Noah and his family were in an ark that protected them from the flood. We may not always be able to escape what this world throws at us. But surely, if our God is real, He can make a way to protect us and rise above the evils that surround us.

There are things of the world system that we've all bought into. But I think now is a good time for us all to wake up.

Can we turn to God and cry out to Him now? How much worse should it get, before we really and truly put deeper trust in God? Before our lives start looking much different for us and our children. That the Egyptians of today could look and see that there is a God that protects us from the plagues of Egypt. That there is a God who truly loves and cares for His people.

'During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.' Exodus2:23-25

I think many of us have stopped crying out to God. Maybe that's why He's let things get so bad. So that we, His people, might wake up finally, and remember Him again. I think God has been ready to intervene and help us for a long time, but maybe  He's just been waiting for us to have genuine faith and trust in Him again. Not in man's systems. Let's cry out to God for wisdom to be like Moses' mother who made a way for her son to be saved. Or even better  yet, let's cry out to God for a full deliverance and Exodus for all His people from the broken systems of this world. Let's stop trusting in Pharaoh and start trusting in our Heavenly Father.