To learn to trust God can be a difficult task. At times, there is an expectation that by
choosing to follow God and making right choices that all will fall into place
and there will be less of a struggle. My
husband and I have always sought God’s assistance when we faced a job change
and/or move to another state. We wanted to do what God would have us do. But so many times, we would struggle with
selling a house and finding the right house.
Plan A became plan B, followed by plan C, until at times, we simply
stopped counting the number of changes we would make in planning a move.
It could have been easy so many times to give up on God and
believe he didn’t care about our family, but with every move, every struggle,
every changed plan, we would always find a way through, and would witness God’s
guiding hand creating miracles on our behalf.
The Israelites were not so quick to believe Moses could free
them and following Moses’ first request to Pharaoh, they were weighed down with
heavier burdens. Pharaoh refused to let them go, and to exert his power over
them, he requested they make the same number of bricks as usual, but they were also
required to gather their own straw first.
They blamed Moses for the extra demands placed upon them. Moses felt
discouraged that he was unsuccessful, but God assured him that he would find
success and the Egyptians would see the power of God and eventually, the
Israelites would be freed from bondage.
Moses tried again, unsuccessfully, ten more times to request
that Pharaoh free his people. Pharaoh
refused and would go back on his promises. Serpents, blood instead of water,
frogs, lice, flies, the death of the cattle, boils, hail that rained fire,
locusts eating all the fruit, and thick darkness affected the Egyptians because
Pharaoh refused to grant Moses’s request. Finally, Pharaoh threatens Moses that
the next time Moses sees Pharaoh will be his last. But it wasn’t Moses who
would die, but all of the firstborn sons in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s son. And
finally, Pharaoh could take no more, and demanded that Moses and all the
Israelites leave. Moses gathered up the vast number of Israelites and led them
safely away from Egypt.
There are many lessons to be learned from this story,
including that there will be times in our lives where we know we are doing what
God would have us do, but the path is difficult and we feel like we have failed
ourselves or others. We may feel that we
can’t compete with more powerful people. We may even fear that we will never
succeed. But as we see in the story of Moses freeing the Israelites, God will
make all things possible, even the impossible. We can learn from Moses to be
willing to trust God and have faith during great challenges, and though we can’t
always see the eventual outcomes, we can remind ourselves that we need not
fear, for God is in charge and He will help us find a way through our most
difficult trials. Moses had feared the task was too much and he couldn’t stand
before Pharaoh or the Israelites and make this happen. But if God can take
Moses with stammering lips and a slow tongue more powerful then a great king of
Egypt, then He certainly can take each of us and make us stronger than our weakness,
braver than our fears, bolder than our enemies, and tougher than our trials!
