When Fear Makes You Want to Go Back: Trusting God in Uncertain Times
It is easy to look back at the past and remember it as better than it actually was. We do it with childhood memories, old relationships, and seasons of life that felt simpler. The Israelites did the same thing, and their story holds a powerful mirror up to our own faith journeys.
Why Do We Remember the Past as Better Than It Was?
When a new school year starts, parents scroll through old photos and smile at the sweet moments. They rarely stop to remember the sleepless nights or the hard seasons in between. We are wired to soften the difficult parts of the past.
Israel did this constantly. They cried out to God for years under brutal Egyptian slavery, begging to be rescued. But the moment things got hard in the wilderness, they looked back at Egypt like it had been a paradise.
That is not just an ancient problem. That is a human problem.
What the Exodus Story Teaches Us About Fear
God led the Israelites out of Egypt through ten devastating plagues. Pharaoh was so desperate for them to leave that the Egyptians handed over gold, silver, and clothing just to speed them on their way. God guided His people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. His presence was visible and undeniable.
And yet, when Pharaoh’s army appeared on the horizon, the people panicked.
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.” – Exodus 14:10 New International Version (NIV)
They turned on Moses and said it would have been better to stay in Egypt as slaves than to die in the desert. They had completely rewritten their own history.
What Does Fear Actually Do to Us?
Fear does two things at the same time. It magnifies what the past provided, and it minimizes what the past cost. The Israelites forgot the suffering, the oppression, and their own desperate prayers for rescue. All they could see was the uncertainty ahead of them.
This is why people return to abusive relationships. It is why people go back to addictions. The past, no matter how painful, feels known. The future feels terrifying because it is uncertain. And when we face uncertainty, we instinctively reach for what is familiar.
Freedom requires uncertainty. And uncertainty requires trust.
What Does “Be Still” Really Mean When You Are Afraid?
Moses responded to the panic of the people with words that must have seemed impossible to hear:
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14:13-14 New International Version (NIV)
No battle plan. No rallying cry. Just: be still.
That is not a passive instruction. It is a call to trust. It is a call to stop letting fear make the decisions and to let God move.
God shifted the pillar of fire to stand between Israel and the Egyptians. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The waters parted. The people walked through on dry ground. And when the Egyptians pursued, the waters returned and covered them.
What happened next is significant:
“And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.” – Exodus 14:31 New International Version (NIV)
They moved from fearing Pharaoh’s hand to trusting God’s hand. The question the whole book of Exodus keeps asking, with the word “hand” appearing 88 times, is simply this: whose hands will you trust?
Why Does God Allow Hard Times Even When He Is Present?
After the Red Sea, God provided water when they were thirsty and manna when they were hungry. His presence never left them. The cloud and the fire remained. And still, when they arrived at a place with no water again, they asked the question that was really underneath all of their complaints:
“Is the Lord among us or not?” – Exodus 17:7 New International Version (NIV)
It is so easy to interpret hardship as abandonment. If God were truly with us, we would not be struggling. If He were present, this would not be happening. But that is not how God’s presence works.
When the Amalekites attacked immediately after that question, God did not remove the battle. He showed up in the middle of it.
What the Battle Against the Amalekites Teaches Us About Community
Moses went to the top of the hill while Joshua led the army below. As long as Moses held his hands up, Israel was winning. When his arms dropped, they began to lose.
Moses grew tired. The staff grew heavy. The burden of leadership pressed down on him. So Aaron and Hur placed a stone under him to sit on and held up his arms, one on each side, until the battle was won.
“His hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” – Exodus 17:12-13 New International Version (NIV)
Three things were happening at once. Hands up in prayer and dependence on God. Hands under to support the one who was weary. Hands on to fight the battle directly. All three were necessary.
Moses was not a weak leader because he got tired. He was a great leader because he was humble enough to let others hold him up. We do not need leaders who pretend they have it all together. We need honest, humble people who acknowledge the weight they carry and allow others to come alongside them.
What Kind of Shepherds Do God’s People Need?
The people needed Moses to be a steady voice when everyone else was afraid. At the edge of the sea, he did not absorb their anxiety and let it drive his decisions. He pointed them toward God and told them to stand firm.
That is what faithful shepherds do. They lead people into a future that does not yet exist. They remind the flock of God’s promises when fear is loudest. They are not men who never get anxious or tired, but men who know where to look when the burden is heavy.
We need shepherds who help us trust God’s presence when fear tells us He is absent.
Life Application
This week, pay attention to where fear is causing you to look backward. Is there a situation in your life where uncertainty is making the past look better than it actually was? Is there a place where you are asking, “Is the Lord among us or not?” even though His hand has been visible in your story?
Your challenge this week is to write down three specific ways God has shown up for you in the past year. Keep that list somewhere visible. When fear tempts you to romanticize what is behind you or dread what is ahead, return to that list. Let it be your reminder that the same God who parted the sea is still present in your uncertainty.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:
- Where in my life am I letting fear rewrite my history and make the past look better than it was?
- Am I interpreting a current hardship as God’s absence, when He may actually be present in the middle of the fight?
- Is there someone in my life who is holding their arms up under a heavy burden? How can I be an Aaron or Hur to them this week?
- Whose hands am I trusting, my own understanding of the situation, or God’s?
God’s presence does not always mean the absence of difficulty. But He has never stopped leading His people forward. The cloud is still out front. The fire is still behind. Be still, and trust the One whose hand has never failed.