Exodus and Anxiety

As we talked about Exodus yesterday, I thought, I recognize these Israelites. Their prayers are answered, they're delivered from bondage, and within months--no, within weeks!--they're complaining (see Exodus 16). But what really resonated with me was their anxiety.

God promises that the manna that they collect will be enough; it will be exactly the right amount. But the Israelites gathered more than they needed. That impulse to hoard was impossible to overcome. God tells them that manna won't fall on the Sabbath. Yet still, they go out and look to see if perhaps some manna fell.

Now some people would tell us that the Israelites had been warped by their conditions, that slave brains are impossible to reprogram. Yet, I've never been enslaved in those kind of conditions, and I, too, find it hard to trust God. I, too, hedge my bets. I want to tithe, but it's hard for me to remember not to hoard my money (particularly with the news giving me grim statistic after grim statistic). Like the Israelites, my anxiety gets me into trouble.