Thread by @BethMooreLPM

You know the old adage, “It’ll probably get worse before it gets better”? Oh, and this one: “It’s always darkest before the dawn” and, meanwhile, that coal-black night seems to go on for eons? Exodus 5 in my morning reading. If you didn’t know God was faithful, you might think

He liked getting you into trouble. Moses has returned to Egypt. Aaron’s reintroduced the former prince to the Israelite elders. Told them God has seen their misery. Moses performed a few signs. They’re bought in and bowed low in worship by the end of Exodus 4. Then Moses & Aaron

go to Pharaoh with the Lord’s message: “Let my people go.”
No. “Please.” Nope. Can’t lose my labor force. So Pharaoh commands overseers to drastically increase the Israelites’ workload without changing their daily quota. When they can’t fill it, the Israelite foremen are beaten.

The Israelite foremen go to Pharaoh & cry out for help. He says, “You are nothing but slackers! Now get to work!” So they do what you know they are going to do and do not blame them for doing and know you would do it, too. They go to Moses and Aaron. “What have you done to us?!?”

Moses then goes to the Lord. “What have you done to them??And why did you ever send me?? Nothing but trouble has happened since we did what you said. “AND,” Moses cries, “You haven’t rescued your people at all!”

It’ll be that way sometimes. It’ll get worse before it gets better.

It’ll seem like God’s trying to get you in trouble. We have this erroneous idea that obedience leads to instant breakthrough. Beautifully, it can on occasion if that’s the way the Lord times it. But far more frequently, obedience either seems to make little immediate difference

OR makes things temporarily worse. A little flicker of divine promise had come earlier-on to Moses and Aaron and, of all things, from Pharaoh’s own mouth. When they first went to him with the Lord’s message, “Let my people go,” he’d unknowingly responded with the Lord’s promise:

“Look, the people of the land are so numerous & you would stop them from their labor.” Read that 1st part again. “Look, the people of the land are so numerous.” Genesis 15:5, God to childless, heirless Abraham. “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.

Your offspring will be that numerous.” Sometimes, if you’re really paying attention, if you’ll really listen, you will hear keywords, brow-raising words, from unsuspecting people in your waiting that are reminders of God’s great faithfulness. A glimpse ahead at Exodus 6 to close.

God hears Moses’s complaint and replies to him, “You will see what I will do...I AM THE LORD.”

Yes, he is.

THE LORD. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Moses, Aaron & the Israelites. The God of us.

He cannot be unfaithful.
He cannot lie.
He is the Lord.

Worthy of our trust. Worthy of our obedience. Worthy of our faithful waiting and burdensome working and relentless praying until that dark night finally turns to dawn.

This is the crisis of faith: when, for just a little while, it seems that you did what God said but He didn’t.

He is the Lord. He will not only prove faithful. When he’s done what he intended to do, his goodness will put you face-to-the-floor. But he will do it in such a way that there’s no boasting in human flesh. Just worship from our lips. Wait and work, Loved of God. He is still Lord.