Exodus 14:10-14 (NKJV)

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Can they possibly be this stupid? They just witnessed ten supernatural plagues, especially the Passover – where they had to slaughter a kid or a lamb and splatter its blood on their homes to avoid death. Now they are literally being led by the LORD, going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. – Ex. 13:21 (NKJV)

With all this evidence, can they really have so little faith?

You bet. Peter denied Christ three times. All the disciples were totally deflated after Jesus died, even though He had clearly predicted his death, particularly at The Last Supper. They’d seen plenty of evidence, but hit them with enough stress and it’s all forgotten.

Note that, the disciples had only been witnessing God’s hand for three years – and the Israelites even less than that. Spiritual growth takes time and unshakable faith is not the stuff of beginners. It takes a while to get used to being a believer. This is the background for Paul’s lessons about the old self and the new self in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 4.

Our spiritual attitudes change more quickly than our “spiritual reflexes.” One of the reasons that USMC training is so grueling is that they have to pound some things all the way into their reflexes. It’s more difficult to do the right thing when you don’t have time to think.

“Reflexes” isn’t exactly the right word for how we react. New believers believe, but they’re not used to it yet. All their spiritual “instincts” (not the right word either) are still the old self. This just takes time.

And boy is it frustrating.

One of the quirkiest things about being a Christian is learning not to expect instant progress. Repentant people are unhappy with who they are. As we grow in Christ, we see our sin ever more clearly and are increasingly offended by it. We know this takes time, but we feel like praying, “LORD, give me patience and give it to me now!”

Be patient with yourself.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies