Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me? From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have certainly not rescued them!”
Exodus 5:22-23 NET
God had instructed Moses to present himself before Pharoah and demand that Pharoah let the Israelites go. Moses did what God told him to do. But the results were not what Moses expected. Rather than let Israel go, Pharoah made life harder for them. And that caused Moses to question God.
Why didn’t Pharoah respond the way that Moses had expected? Was God unable to free his people? Was he just playing games, making a fool of Moses? Did he want the Israelites to suffer even more?
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for compelled by my strong hand he will release them, and by my strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
Exodus 6:1 NET
But God told Moses to have patience and to stay the course. God was capable of delivering his people. And he would. But not according to Moses’ timetable. His plan for delivering them was much more involved than what Moses envisioned.
By the time God had finished with Pharoah and Egypt, the Israelites were free. But beyond that, they had experienced the power of God at work in their deliverance. No one could imagine that Pharoah had let them go because he was a nice guy. God had, with a great demonstration of his power, defeated Pharoah and all the gods of Egypt.
I sometimes find myself like Moses. I believe I am doing what God wants me to do. But I am not seeing the results I expect. Could I have misunderstood what God wanted (quite possibly)? But it could also be that my vision of what God wants from me is incomplete.
The scope of God’s plan is much greater than I can see. I am playing just one small part in his plan to redeem humanity. Rather than expect instant results and become discouraged when I don’t see them, I need to be faithful to my part. And someday, I will see how my part fits into his overall plan.
