“Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.’” Exodus 5:22-23 (NIV)
Here we see Moses complaining bitterly to God about the outcome of doing what God told him to do. Moses was fearful and reluctant to go to Pharaoh in the first place to speak on behalf of God in order to free the Israelites. He feels like maybe God set him up for failure; told him to step out in faith, only to seemingly let him fall. He’s offended.
God tells us in His Word what He wants us to do, what we must do. It looks good on paper but doesn’t He know how difficult our lives are? The word of God can become a stumbling block to us if we read it without faith that God is for us. We may feel like we are not equipped to obey His commands and so we skip over them, offended that He would require something of us that, in our minds, is impossible.
Sometimes we do step out in faith, trying to be obedient. And then the situation GETS WORSE! This happens a lot, especially in families. We start trying to be more loving, more submissive, more humble and suddenly everyone in the house decides that now is the time to rebel and become frustratingly obstinate!
You can be sure that if God’s word convicts you of something in your heart that needs to change, the enemy will take notice of your efforts to do so. And God may allow a certain amount of opposition to your attempts to be obedient, but you must have faith that if God says, “Do it!”, He is actively moving on your behalf to ensure your success in obeying His word.
Daddy, we want to do what’s right. We want to obey, to bless, and to be blessed. Soften our hearts, Lord, that we would trust You, and not question Your motives or Your love towards us. When it seems like things are moving out of our control, encourage our hearts to remember that You are in control and we can trust you in all things, especially in those times that it seems like You’re no where around. We know that You are very near to us; help us to really KNOW. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
— Jodi Packe
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