Faith & spiritual formation
When Doubt Gets Loud: Remembering God’s Character in Uncertain Times
Published on this site
When fear makes trust difficult, Exodus 14 offers a way to remember God’s character, examine our conclusions, and take the next faithful step.
You can believe God is faithful and still feel afraid.
You can remember an answered prayer and wonder whether he hears you now. You can trust his goodness on Sunday and struggle to make sense of your circumstances by Tuesday afternoon.
That gap between what we believe and what we feel can be unsettling. Sometimes we add another layer of distress by judging ourselves for it: After everything God has done, why am I still struggling to trust him?
Exodus gives us a surprisingly honest picture of this experience. The Israelites have witnessed the plagues, survived the Passover, and left Egypt. Then they reach the sea, see Pharaoh’s army approaching, and panic.
Their story helps us understand the importance of remembering God’s character when our circumstances make him difficult to understand.
When the danger in front of us fills the whole picture
In Exodus 14, the Israelites face a real threat. An army is pursuing them, and they cannot see a way forward. They become afraid, cry out to God, and accuse Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die.
From a comfortable distance, their response can seem unreasonable. How could they doubt so quickly?
But imagine standing there with your family. You can see the chariots. You know what the Egyptians are capable of. You have no obvious escape.
Their fear is understandable, even though their conclusion—that God has brought them out only to abandon them—is mistaken.
We make similar moves. A difficult circumstance becomes a conclusion about God:
“I don’t know how this will work out” becomes “God isn’t taking care of me.”
“I haven’t received the answer I wanted” becomes “He isn’t listening.”
“I feel alone” becomes “I have been abandoned.”
The feeling deserves attention. The conclusion deserves examination.
Remembering God’s character creates room to distinguish between the two.
What the sea crossing reveals about God
Moses tells the people that the Lord will fight for them and that they can be still (Exodus 14:14). Then, in the next verse, God tells them to move forward.
Those instructions belong together. Israel cannot defeat the Egyptian army or divide the sea. But when God opens a path, they must walk through it.
Thomas Constable emphasizes this relationship between dependence and action in his commentary: prayer matters, and there also comes a time to move forward in obedience. He connects the divided waters and dry ground with the creation account in Genesis—a new beginning for God’s people.
The event reveals more than God’s ability to solve a problem. It reveals his faithfulness to his promises, his opposition to oppression, and his commitment to the people he has rescued.
John Piper draws attention to Psalm 106:7–8, which looks back on this moment. Israel rebels at the sea, yet God saves them for his name’s sake, making his power known.
Their rescue does not depend on their ability to produce flawless confidence.
That matters when we become afraid of our own doubt. The Israelites’ uncertainty does not make God uncertain. Their faltering trust does not erase his character.
Remembering is a practice because forgetting is a pattern
In his sermon A Gospel Reminder, Matt Chandler points to Israel’s experience at the Red Sea and challenges the assumption that we would have responded more faithfully. We also forget. We also need reminders.
The rest of Exodus makes this painfully clear. After the crossing comes celebration. Moses sings. Miriam leads the women in praise. Then, only a few days later, the people encounter bitter water and begin complaining again.
One extraordinary experience has not completed their formation.
We may wish faith worked differently: one powerful moment, one clear answer, one experience of peace that settles every future question. But trust often develops through repeated experiences of bringing the next uncertainty into relationship with God.
This is one reason remembering has such a prominent place in Scripture. Passover gives Israel a recurring way to retell its rescue. Parents are instructed to explain what God has done to their children. The Psalms repeatedly revisit his faithfulness.
Remembering gives the present moment a larger context.
Remembering without demanding a particular outcome
There is an important limit to how we apply the Red Sea story.
It does not promise that every frightening situation will end with an obvious escape. Remembering a past healing does not guarantee another healing. Remembering financial provision does not tell us exactly how the next bill will be paid.
God’s character is dependable. Our predictions about his next action are less so.
A more grounded expression of trust might sound like this:
“I don’t know what will happen. I can ask honestly for what I want, remember what God has revealed about himself, and take the next faithful step available to me.”
Within Christian faith, we also look to Jesus when circumstances are difficult to interpret. His life, death, and resurrection remain central to our understanding of God’s love and faithfulness.
Our present experience matters deeply. It does not have to carry the entire weight of defining who God is.
A practical way to respond when doubt shows up
You do not have to talk yourself into instant peace. Begin with a few honest questions.
What am I afraid will happen?
Be specific. “I’m anxious” may become:
“I’m afraid this relationship won’t recover.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to provide.”
“I’m afraid I’ll keep struggling.”
Naming the fear helps you understand what needs attention.
What am I concluding about God—or myself?
Underneath the fear, you may discover:
“If God cared, this would be easier.”
“If I had stronger faith, I wouldn’t feel this way.”
“I must have disappointed him.”
Ask whether that conclusion is warranted. Are there other ways to understand the situation that account for both the difficulty and what Scripture reveals about God?
What can I remember?
Recall a passage, a season of provision, an experience of forgiveness, or a person through whom you received care.
Keep the memory honest. You can acknowledge unanswered questions alongside meaningful evidence of faithfulness.
Sometimes the most helpful memory is modest: “I have been overwhelmed before, and I was supported through it.”
What is my next faithful action?
The next step might be making an appointment, having a difficult conversation, asking for help, setting a boundary, or allowing yourself to rest.
In Exodus 14, trusting God includes walking. In our lives, it often includes practical action taken while uncertainty remains.
Don’t turn remembering into another test of being “enough”
Even a helpful spiritual practice can become a performance requirement.
“I remembered these verses, so why am I still anxious?”
“I prayed about it. I should feel better by now.”
“Maybe I need to do more before God will help me.”
Remembering God’s character is an invitation to return your attention to him. You do not have to manufacture a feeling to make that return count.
You can finish praying and still feel unsettled. You can take a faithful step with a racing heart. You can bring God the honest sentence, “I want to trust you, and I’m having a hard time.”
Nor do you have to work through every doubt privately. A trusted friend, pastor, or counselor can help you examine the conclusions you are drawing and remember what becomes difficult to hold onto alone.
Faith can take a step before fear disappears
At the sea, Israel cannot yet imagine the way forward. God’s faithfulness exceeds what they can see.
Our circumstances will not always resolve as theirs did. But their story gives us a question to return to:
What do I know about God that my fear is making difficult to remember?
You may still have questions after answering it. You may still need help. You may still feel afraid.
Remembering can help you take the next step with a fuller picture—one that includes the difficulty in front of you and the character of the God you are learning to trust.
If fear, self-criticism, or spiritual uncertainty is weighing on you, counseling can offer space to work through those experiences. I offer counseling for adults in Dallas and Richardson, with Christian faith integrated according to your preferences.
Scripture: Exodus 13–15; Psalm 106:7–8.
Sources and further reading
- Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Exodus, commentary on Exodus 14.
- John Piper, “God’s Passion for His Glory in Christ”.
- Matt Chandler, “A Gospel Reminder”.
The practical reflections in this article are Andrew Yeaton’s synthesis; the linked teachers’ contributions are identified in the text.
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