Monday July 23, 2012

Read exodus 5:1-14, 22-23

 

It happened again.  I got the urge to clean my office.  Before I could resist, I had created an even bigger mess than I started with.  One pile turned into many piles when I started sorting books, papers and magazines.  As the mess mushroomed, I lamented that I had started.  But there was no going back.

 

When God recruited Moses to rescue the Hebrews from slavery, their situation went from bad to worse as well.  There was no doubt that the job needed to be done.  The people had been crying out to God to help them (exodus 2:23).  Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Moses agreed to appeal to Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrews.  The encounter did not go well.  Instead of releasing the people, Pharaoh increased his unreasonable demands.  Moses questioned whether he should have started  (vs 22-23).  Only after a lot more trouble for a lot of people did Pharaoh let the people leave.

 

Whenever we set out to do something good, even when we’re certain that God wants us to do it, we shouldn’t be surprised when the situation gets worse before it gets better.  This doesn’t prove that we’re doing the wrong thing; it just reminds us that we need God to accomplish everything.

 

Prayer:

¥ Pray for the work of Mustard Seed Orphanage in Myanmar. Pray that God would provide for them in terms of food, clothing, finances and personnel. Pray that this group would be able to show the love of Christ as they reach out to so many.

¥ Pray that we would be diligent in prayer and support for the various missionaries that we support.