When Your Obedience To God, Gets You In Trouble.

What do you do when your obedience to God gets you in trouble? Often, after God gets us out of our comfort zone, He takes us into the frying pan, then the fire, and out into the promised land. We define the entire process as the sanctification or the refining process. This is the season when your obedience to God gets tested. Maybe today you are going through such a situation. Maybe you thought you had come out of your wilderness season and you were expecting things to take a turn for the better only for them to get worse. Is this what you have been going through?

Have you found yourself going through a situation where things seem to get worse yet you know without a shadow of a doubt that it was God who instructed you to take that route? If that’s you, then read on. In fact, I believe this word is for everyone. And before we can look at how to position yourself when your obedience to God gets you in trouble, let’s look at an example from the Bible. 

The Israelites. 

God used Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. The Israelites had safely come out from the bondage they had been in for 400+ years. You would think that they had gone through enough, so things would go well for them henceforth. They had just become accustomed to their freedom when suddenly disaster struck. They faced an impossible situation. Before them was the Red Sea and behind them were the Egyptians coming to them full throttle. Bear in mind when they left Egypt, the Egyptians were in mourning because every family had experienced the death of their firstborn. And also the Israelites had plundered the Egyptians.

God made the Pharaoh king of Egypt stubborn. Determined to chase the Israelites as they walked out on him without even looking back. The Egyptians gave chase and caught up with them where they had made camp by the sea—all Pharaoh’s horse-drawn chariots and their riders, all his foot soldiers there at Pi Hahiroth opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them—Egyptians! Coming at them!

They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. And they told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’” Exodus 14:8‭-‬12 MSG

The Egyptians came back to their senses and realized they had let free labor go free. They went after them. So here we see the Israelites stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were to die by drowning or at the hand of the Egyptians. Mind you, the Egyptians who came after them were in the army and not their oppressors so this was a different ball game altogether. They were stuck. They got to where they started complaining, asking Moses why he wanted them to die in the wilderness. 

Have you ever gotten to a point where all you have left to do is cry out because you have hit the rock bottom of rock bottom? Are you between a rock and a hard place? Are you wondering where to turn to for help? The Israelites had reached that point. Fortunately for them, God was on their side and He was the one who delivered them. 

Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today, for you’re never going to see them again. God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!” Exodus 14:13‭-‬14 MSG

The Israelites did not know what else to do, and it was while in that state that God came through for them. All He wanted them to do was to remain still. So what happens next is miraculous, to say the least. 

God said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground. “Meanwhile I’ll make sure the Egyptians keep up their stubborn chase—I’ll use Pharaoh and his entire army, his chariots and horsemen, to put my Glory on display so that the Egyptians will realize that I am God.” The angel of God that had been leading the camp of Israel now shifted and got behind them. And the Pillar of Cloud that had been in front also shifted to the rear. The Cloud was now between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel.

The Cloud enshrouded one camp in darkness and flooded the other with light. The two camps didn’t come near each other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and God, with a terrific east wind all night long, made the sea go back. He made the sea dry ground. The seawater split. And the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with the waters a wall to the right and to the left. The Egyptians came after them in full pursuit, every horse and chariot and driver of Pharaoh racing in the middle of the sea. It was now the morning watch.

God looked down from the Pillar of Fire and Cloud on the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He clogged the wheels of their chariots; they were stuck in the mud. The Egyptians said, “Run from Israel! God is fighting on their side and against Egypt!” Exodus 14:15‭-‬25 MSG

The Israelites were delivered from two impossible situations at once. I don’t know about you but this gives me hope when I am facing a scary situation. 

What are some lessons to learn from this when your obedience to God gets you in trouble? 

Nothing is impossible with God. 

The Israelites were at their worst, and they were facing 2 impossible situations at once. On one end there was a sea that did not even seem passable. They did not have the equipment required to cross it. And on the other end, they had the Egyptian army coming after them, and yet again they did not have the training, skills, or technical know-how to fight them. In simple terms, they were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. 

It was when they got to this point that God came through for them. You see, God ultimately wants His glory revealed to humanity. But for His glory to be revealed, there has to be a coming to our end of self. This is to encourage you by telling you that, if you have hit Rock-bottom, then you are the best candidate for God to show His glory to humanity. 

Maybe you have been unemployed for years, and your resume looks bleak. It does not matter because with God nothing is impossible. Or maybe you have a relationship that is broken beyond repair or a sick loved one for who the doctors have said there is nothing left to do. Either way, when God steps in, He will make a way where there seems to be no way. There is no situation too far gone for redemption. 

Take it to God. 

When your obedience to God gets you in trouble take it to Him. He knows how to fix it. As you see from this scripture, the Israelites could not do it on their own. They had to turn to God to help them. This is the same case for you. If you have hit rock bottom, it is now time for you to cry out to God and ask Him for help. On your own you will not make it but with Him, you will. God will make a way for you in the wilderness and even part the Red sea for you. 

What are you going through today? Take it to God. God is asking you today to take your burdens to Him because He cares for you. Also, that He cares for you means He will deliver you when you turn to Him. He does promise that when we seek Him we will find Him and when we cry out to Him, He will come to our rescue. So stop carrying the burden on your shoulder and allow Him to bear it for you.

You have been broken long enough, hand the driver’s seat to Him and give him the keys. He will come to your rescue but you have to do your part of asking too. Because of the gift if free will, God will never violate it and it will require you to ask for help in order to receive it. The solution is in Him. Jeremiah 33:3 says to call unto God and He will answer and show us great and mighty things that we do not know. 

 Have Faith when your obedience to God gets you in trouble.

God wants you to have faith in Him when your obedience to God gets you in trouble. We see Moses had faith in God. No wonder he told the Israelites that God would deliver them. Again, God says in His word that it is impossible to please Him without faith. Faith is what God will use to get us out of our predicament. With faith, you will move mountains. Also, faith will help you trust God to deliver when everything around you is screaming no. 

The currency that will help you in your wilderness is faith. Trust that God will deliver you because when you do, He surely will. Sometimes you will not feel you have faith and that is why community is important. In moments where you don’t have faith to believe those around you will do it for you. The Israelites lacked faith, but because Moses had faith; the Israelites were delivered. Sometimes you will need to borrow someone else’s faith and that is okay, too.

Again, if you don’t have people around you, remember that the faith God requires is as small as a mustard seed. This goes to show that amidst the fear, doubt, unbelief, and disappointment you can choose to allow a glimpse of hope to permeate. God will increase that faith just like He multiplied the 5 loaves and 2 fish. Take that small faith that you have in God and be honest to Him about it. 

Things get worse before they get better

It was when everything looked bleak that God came through. The situation was so bad that they could not see a way out. It is when things take a turn for the worst that God can intervene and perform a miracle that will deliver you once and for all. God is in the business of full deliverance. He just does not want you to experience partial deliverance, HE wants you to experience full deliverance because He says that who Jesus sets free is free indeed. When your obedience to God gets you in trouble, it is a sign that God wants to do the extraordinary in your life.

Always remember that the storm will worsen before it can subside and when it does you will experience deliverance that is too sweet to put into words. Can you imagine what the Israelites must have felt once they saw the army destroyed for good? You being a child of God through Jesus Christ, have to access to the same thing too. God wants to set you free from the things that are holding you back. And that is why sometimes there will rage storms around you because that makes room for God to stretch out His hand and deliver you. Do not fret because of how bad the current situation is. Just trust God because He will help you. 

God might not get you out of a difficult situation, but He will provide help for you while in it.

That entire night before the red sea was parted, the Israelites slept knowing that the Egyptians were behind them. God did not deliver them instantly. Instead, He protected them while they were in the storm. God will not always swoop in and save the day. Sometimes He will just give you the strength to endure while protecting you and keeping you safe in the storm.

When Jesus was about to face the cross, He got to a point where He asked God to take the cup away from Him. Unfortunately, because this was God’s will, He did not take the cup away. Rather, God strengthened Jesus while in the storm. The Bible even tells us THAT God sent angels to strengthen Jesus. So always remember that there will be instances where God will not deliver you but will strengthen and protect you while you are in the storm. HE will eventually deliver you, but before He does, He will be your source of security. 

If you are going through a situation that does not seem to subside, ask the HOLY Spirit to help you and strengthen your faith to hold on. It is through the Holy Spirit and prayer that the peace that surpasses all understanding will overwhelm you. 

The solution is around you. 

God will always use what is in you to get you out of your predicament. God instructed Moses to use the rod on his hand to part the Red sea and vice versa after the Israelites had crossed. The same thing will happen to you too. God will ask you to use what you already have. When you give God what you have, He will give you a solution through it. Moses had the solution all along. It was in the rod.

Never despise what you currently have, it could be what God will use to get you out of your current predicament. What tool do you have? What skills do you have? Maybe you are going through a financial situation right now, but that’s okay God wants you to know that He has already equipped you with the solution. Maybe your financial freedom will come through you starting a YouTube Chanel or writing a book. Either way, the very skill you have or the knowledge you have will be what God will use for His glory and your deliverance. You are never fully depleted.

Conclusion

When your obedience to God gets you in trouble, remember God is still present. And whatever He has spoken over your life will still come to pass. This is just a chapter in your book. When you are going through a storm that keeps raging, trust the One who Can calm it. God calms the storm as He has power over it. He promises to never leave you or forsake you. He is your present help when you are in trouble. So do not lose hope. Trust in Him because when you do, He promises to deliver you. 

When you don’t understand what is going on, just pray and ask God for help. It is okay, to be honest with him and pour your heart out. He will never ostracize you for being human. He understands what you are going through, and He wants you to take it to Him. This is because when you do, He will help you carry the burden, and also He will be your source of comfort when all hell breaks loose. God is your shelter in a time of storm. Allow Him to be your firm foundation. He wants to help, so don’t hesitate to ask Him to.