The god of the traffic police

Just got back from a retreat with about 35 Young Adults from our church. The theme for the weekend was the Passover and Saturday night we celebrated a seder dinner together. The idea of the Passover, and the Exodus had been on my mind lately, and as I read the story with Andrew, I was struck again by how feeble the faith of the Israelites was. They had watched as God had demonstrated His power over all of the Egyptian gods but had spared His own people. They had been led out of Egypt by pillars of cloud and fire to the edge of the Red Sea. There, on the banks of the sea, just as they were about to be attacked by Pharoah's army, God opens a way for them through the sea where they can walk on dry land. As soon as they are safe on the other side, He completely destroys their enemies while they watch. How could they not see that God not only has the power to protect and provide for them, but He has clearly shown his desire to do so? Wow, what a faith booster!! But it lasted 3 days! Seriously! 3 days in they start getting thirsty and instead of asking for water they start complaining and griping about how much better things were in Egypt. How totally pathetic!!! Except I am no better. How I wish I could have said that my faith has never wavered in this journey. Since we began to feel God's leading us to return to the US, I have often asked for clarification, direction, assurance, but I had not yet doubted that God would lead and provide for us. Until last week.

Todd was explaining to the group on Friday that the Egyptians, in some ways had a stronger faith than we do, because they knew they depended on something outside of themselves. They just had faith in the wrong something. They had faith in the gods of fertility, water, sun, life, death, and they made sacrifices to appease those gods. God's demonstration of his power over these gods, in the plagues, was actually an act of mercy to introduce the Egyptians and the world to the one True and Living God who actually does have the power of life and death. We Western, rational, scientifically minded people (meaning Todd) tend to have faith in ourselves and only ask God for help when things get over our heads. Todd's message was that we should depend on God in all areas of life at all times.
But I, the unscientific, irrational one have lived here long enough to be well acquainted with the wide range of local gods. There is the elevator god (who got lots of attention when we lived in a nine story building and had frequent breakdowns). There is the credit card god who makes transactions go smoothly at the store. There are of course the weather gods and the travel gods. Most terrifying is the god of the traffic police. He often appears in human form standing along the road holding his black and white striped baton ready to strike. He can usually be appeased with a sacrifice of cash, but he can be angry and demanding! Lately we have been introduced to the gods of real estate and international shipping. It is so tempting to lose faith in the true and living God when the local gods are so visible and active and seem poised to destroy us.

This week we have begun showing our apartment. Our attorney seems to think that it is priced too high. Also, because of a clerical error in a lawsuit filed in our building 3 years ago, we may be subject to a 13% tax on the sale instead of being exempt. At the same time we got the quote from the shipping company and it was about twice what I expected. The weather is lousy. Certain key documents have gone astray. The vet isn't answering her phone and we need to get a passport for the cat. The elevators are still working .....for now. I was looking at my circumstances and feeling very discouraged. That's when I was reading the bit in Exodus with Andrew about the Israelites losing their faith. Three days? It took me about 3 minutes of cloudy skies to send me into a funk. But, wait a minute! Am I not following the same God? This God that has led us so faithfully and clearly through this decision over the past several months, this same God that has provided a soft landing for our family in Florida (furnished apartment and DisneyWorld passes, as well), is the same God that parted the Red Sea and provided sustenance and guidance for the Israelites all the way to the Promised Land. I am such a feeb to doubt for a moment His provision for us! The wonderful message of Passover is that our God is stronger than the god of the traffic police and he has already been appeased!