How To Trust God When You’ve Had Enough

Sometimes, we get into a situation where, no matter what we decide, none of our choices work for us. That’s when we must make up our minds that we will trust God no matter what.

Because of the famine, Jacob’s family ran out of food, again. This meant taking another trip to Egypt to purchase grain. Jacob, however, found himself facing an unacceptable scenario.

Jacob replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.” Genesis 42:38

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On their first trip to buy food, Joseph recognized his brothers. But they didn’t recognize him because he looked like an Egyptian and spoke like one, too.

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. Genesis 42:8-9

Joseph accused these sons of Jacob of spying out the land. Of course, they denied it. However, he required them to bring their youngest brother to Egypt before he would believe them.

But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed. Genesis 42:20

These men thought they were receiving punishment from God because of their actions years ago against their brother Joseph. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph understood everything they said.

So, to assure their return, Joseph chose Simeon and tied him up right before their eyes. Then, he released the rest of them to return home with their grain.

When the brothers came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. Genesis 42:29

Their Grain Began to Run Out

As time passed, their grain began to run low, and Jacob had to make a difficult decision. He could either send Benjamin at the risk of losing him, or the entire family would starve.

Jacob initially stayed adamant about his decision by saying they would not take young Benjamin to Egypt. As far as he knew, he had already lost Joseph.

In the meantime, the Governor had Simeon bound with rope and sent to jail. Jacob had no way of knowing if he was still alive or not. Ruben, though, made his father an offer.

Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him, and I promise to bring him back.” Genesis 42:37

Reuben’s offer only put two more people’s lives in jeopardy. Jacob, however, refused to compromise or negotiate. He made up his mind that Benjamin would stay with him.

Somebody needed to turn to God and trust Him. It seemed like no one even mentioned Him up until this point. Well, their circumstances continued to change, and not for the better.

The famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” Genesis 43:1-2

Interestingly, when a person gets hungry enough, they will do just about anything. Because Jacob still hadn’t made a decision, the family may have begun rationing food.

If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now. Genesis 43:10

What Happens When We Don’t Trust God?

It’s easier to see death and not life when you don’t trust God. Jacob’s decision boiled down to either dying of starvation or at the hands of this Egyptian ruler. He chose the latter.

So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, . . . take your brother, and go back to the man. Genesis 43:11,13

When Jacob’s sons arrived back in Egypt, terror struck them when directed toward Joseph’s house. They thought he would accuse them of stealing the money they paid before.

They tried to explain things to the manager of Joseph’s household. Ironically, it took this unbelieving Egyptian to move them from worrying to giving God the credit.

Relax. Don’t be afraid,” the household manager told them. “Your God, the God of your father, must have put this treasure into your sacks. I know I received your payment.” Then he released Simeon and brought him out to them. Genesis 43:23

How can we relate to this story? In it, God gave us a wonderful spiritual lesson. Jacob and his family became hungry because of a famine.

We, too, can suffer from a spiritual famine and become spiritually famished. When that happens, in our desperation, we not only don’t trust God, but often we completely forget about Him.

We try to fill our hunger with things that we think are good for us but aren’t. Or we worry and become indecisive. We trust everything under the sun except for God.

You May have to Make Sacrifices

To trust the Lord means that we are willing to make sacrifices. What does that look like? It might include a willingness to give up some relationships or a willingness to give up certain pleasures.

We must willingly and humbly go to the one who can give us spiritual nourishment. We can’t wait until life dishes out more than we can handle. Instead, trust God from the very beginning.

We may face many decisions that don’t look favorable to us. But understand this. God knew what He was doing in Jacob’s family. Therefore, trust Him in all your circumstances.

Lord, forgive us when we try to tackle problems on our own instead of trusting you. Help us to focus on you so we don’t worry and become indecisive.