Scripture: Exodus 16:1-8 (NIV)

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

Jyn Erso had just presented her case to the Rebel Alliance council and with it, a chance to strike a significant blow at the Empire they were all fighting against. It wasn’t an easy task by any means. It was going to require a mission to infiltrate the Imperial archive on Scarif, not the easiest of places to break into, just to get the plans to hopefully find the flaw that her father, Galen Erso, had embedded in the huge battle station that was just coming online. It was a slim chance but it was a chance.

However, though she did have some backers who recognized that this might be the best opportunity they would ever have to advance their cause, most of the leaders didn’t want to risk it. Some, seeing the size and firepower of the Death Star, wanted to flee, hoping that the Empire wouldn’t be able to find them. While none voiced the opinion, there were undoubtedly some that wondered if maybe trying to rejoin the powerful government wouldn’t be the safest thing. Overwhelming odds will do that to a person.

Jyn found a group of people led by Cassian Andor that were willing to go against their leadership to do what had to be done. This group gave their lives to get the plans to the Rebellion, never knowing whether their sacrifice was successful or in vain. They were able to pave a good start of the road to freedom with their actions.

We often have trouble sympathizing with the Israelites in their escape from Egypt. They had seen the power of the Lord as He miraculously freed them from the land of bondage. They had heard the wailing of the Egyptians as all the first born were struck down. They had walked with the glory of the Lord in front of them, whether in fire or in smoke, the entire way out. They had even seen the Red Sea parted for them and their pursuers drowned as the waters collapsed. If we had seen all of that, we think, we’d have trusted God in all things.

Yet as soon as they went a few days without food (which, granted, is not an easy thing to do) they were wanting to head back to slavery just because it was easier. They’d rather be miserable and full than hungry and free. They couldn’t see the bigger picture and they couldn’t trust that God had their best interests at heart. They didn’t want to do the hard thing, even when it was the right thing and it would lead to a better life for all of them.

We may not have seen God in a pillar of smoke or had Him dramatically save us from danger. However, we have had plenty of evidence that He loves and cares for us. Yet, when push comes to shove, too often we also don’t want to do the hard thing. We fall back into that old comfortable sin or hide away from an opportunity to do His will. We can’t trust that He will get us out of it or strengthen us to resist.

The next time that comes, pray for His help and trust that it will come. Stand up for God and He will bring you through it!