Key Verse:
“Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?… For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’” – Exodus 14:11–12 (NKJV)
Have you ever prayed for something and then, when nothing seemed to change, started wondering if God even heard you? You’re not alone. The Israelites did the same thing. Moments after crying out to God for deliverance, they turned to Moses in fear and frustration. “Why did you bring us here to die?” they complained. What fascinates me is how quickly their focus shifted, from faith to fear, from gratitude to grumbling. But before we judge them too harshly, let’s be honest: we’ve all had moments like that, when we prayed and still panicked because the situation looked the same.
Fear has a sneaky way of redirecting our gaze. Like Peter stepping out of the boat, we start strong, eyes on Jesus, but as soon as the waves rise, we start sinking. The truth is, we cannot walk by faith if we stay focused on our fears. Faith doesn’t deny the reality of the waves; it just chooses to keep looking at the One who walks on them. God had already proven Himself to Israel through the plagues, the miracles, and the Passover. But fear made them forget. And fear still does the same to us today. It blurs our memory of God’s faithfulness.
So how do we shift our focus? By practicing the exchange that prayer makes possible. We trade anxiety for peace, frustration for faith, and confusion for clarity. Every time you reply to your worries with the word of God, you are re-centering your focus on Him. That’s how you win. The next time you feel fear creeping in, pause and remind yourself that if God brought you this far, He isn’t about to leave you now.
Prayer:
Father, I admit that sometimes I let fear take my focus away from you. Help me to trust you even when things still look the same. Teach me to rest in your promises, to fix my eyes on Jesus, and to speak your word when anxious thoughts arise. I choose to exchange my fear for faith, my worry for peace, and my doubt for trust in your unfailing love. Amen.
