Exodus 14:10-16 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

The error of the children of Israel wasn't that they didn't have the creativity to imagine how God would make a way out for them; it was that they couldn't remember the ways he had delivered them previously, thereby limiting their faith to the intimidating knowledge of their current situation.

Our faith is built on our knowledge of God, which is heavily influenced by our experience. If they would have remembered that God had just delivered them from Egypt by using plagues, then they would have had no problem accepting that he could help them over the Red Sea. The problem was they lived for the moment and never committed to memory God's dealings in their life, making their belief in Him feeble.

How many times have you forgotten about God's deliverance in your life instead of keeping "in remembrance" what He has already done for you? Try thinking on these things," as Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, so that the next time you face a battle, you can put it into the proper context of God's ability. jn

Additional Verses to Study: Deuteronomy 6:6-12; 8:11; Psalm 77:11; 78; Proverbs 3:1; John 14:26; Judas 1:20-21