Doing Things the Hard Way

Saturday, February 12th, 2011
Today’s Passage: Exodus chapters 13 and 14 (E-100 Reading)
Memory Verse(s):  Exodus 13: 8-9

If I had to put a title to the entire series of events surrounding the Israelites’ “Exodus” (coming out) of Egypt, it would be this: “Doing Things the Hard Way." There’s no question that it was God who hardened Pharoah’s heart, but there was also a reason. And the reason for God hardening Pharoah’s heart was that God had a plan. Of course, God could have simply let the Israelites out… but God wanted all of Egypt to understand that He was the one true God. In Exodus 7:5 the Lord says: “And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
It’s the same reason why God let only 300 soldiers fight with Gideon. If Gideon won with 30,000 men, who would get the credit? Gideon! Anyone could win a battle with 30,000 men. But when Gideon defeats an army with 300 men, it becomes pretty obvious that someone greater than Gideon was involved. Similarly, God let Moses go through all the trouble of dealing with Pharaoh so that when the time was right, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses would be known throughout Egypt. Look at the message God gave Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 9:15-16: “For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. [16] But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
Why did God do things the hard way – or the long way? Why did He let the Israelites suffer just a little longer? Why did He let poor old Moses be denied by Pharaoh and rejected by his own people so many times? Because God had a much bigger picture in mind than just the Israelites. The fact is, we tend to think small. We see our pain, our suffering and our frustration. We see only the present time. God sees and understands much more. The lesson I learned from Exodus is that God’s primary purpose was not to make everything go as smoothly as possible for His people lest they forget to acknowledge Him. The fact is, if we are expecting God to make things smooth for us, we will be disappointed. We are still living in a sin-saturated world – and quite often we have to face the consequences of sin, whether it be our own, or somebody else’s. But that’s not to say God didn’t care about his people.
God knows when a sparrow falls. He looks after the grass in the field; and if God cares about the birds of the air and the grass in the field, which are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more does He care for you and I, who are made in His image? Often it is precisely because God cares for us, that he allows us to go through things the hard way. He knows that it is often through struggles that the great lessons of life are learned; and it is often through struggles that we develop the capacity to care for others. What Moses learned, and what we also need to learn, is that there is nothing safe or easy about following God’s call. It’s risky business. But nothing else on this earth brings greater rewards.



Prayer: Father, as I grow stronger in You, I find myself being filled with gratitude at how You work. Your ultimate goal is to get glory out of my life, be it through challenges imposed by my decisions or assignments from the enemy. No matter what , may I never forget that You love me and always seek my good. Help me not to fight Your process, but work with You as You move heaven and earth to bring me out. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


By Monica Goff