“You Have Not”

Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” Exodus 5:22-23 (ESV)

Moses was disappointed. He hadn’t wanted the task in the first place. “Uh-unh, Lord. No way. Not me. Appoint someone else to deliver your people.”

After repeated objections and feeble excuses, Moses and his brother Aaron went to see Pharaoh, asking him to release the Israelites to worship God in the wilderness.” Not only did Pharaoh refuse, he also increased their workload. To use their words, “You have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

In their devotional, Experiencing God Day by Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby state, “Much of the frustration we experience as Christians has nothing to do with what God does or doesn’t do. It has everything to do, rather, with the false assumptions we make about how we think God will and should act.”

I have to admit, that is one of my biggest struggles: making wrong assumptions about myself, others, but especially God. To be honest, I have certain expectations when it comes to God’s sovereignty. And when they don’t come to pass, I struggle to make sense of it.

My root problem is that my thoughts are not God’s thoughts nor are my ways God’s ways. In my mind, I’ve already determined the course of action that makes the most sense to me (Let’s get those innocent kids out of Gaza, Lord!). Because in my mind, my God is a God of mercy and grace. He’s a God who loves and cares. So when what I witness doesn’t match what I know of God, it trips me up.

Thankfully, Moses didn’t allow his disappointment to bring his God-appointed mission to a standstill. He brought it to God. In His great mercy, God revealed His plan and purpose to Moses who would soon have a front-row seat to one of the biggest demonstrations of God’s mighty power – the parting of the Red Sea. He would be used by God in ways he’d never dreamed possible. Best of all, he would witness first-hand the foreshadowing of God’s plan of redemption.

We may not see God’s purpose or plan until we reach heaven. In the meantime, God asks us to trust Him, no matter what. He calls us to walk by faith rather than by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). He urges us to take our disappointments to Him and release them into His hands. We may not understand His plan, but we can trust that He will work all things out to His glory.

Thought: “Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.” – Elisabeth Elliot