January 28, 2016
""Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, ""O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all."" (Exodus 5:22-23)
God’s operating system with man is through His promises. Over 7,000 promises are recorded in the Scripture. My copy of the Bible has 1,000 pages—7 promises per page. Obviously this process is one of God’s primary ways with us. We have a need, God makes a promise, we come to faith…but then, there is the inevitable gap between faith and fulfillment. It is always here that God does some of His most important and remarkable work.
A GODLY MAN’S QUESTIONS
Lest you think you are the only struggler in this process, listen to one of the greatest leaders in God’s hall of faith. “Why have You brought harm to Your people? Why did You ever send me?” Moses questions God’s call on His life, God’s plan for His people, and the validity of His promise.
Moses knew God had sent him as an agent of deliverance, but the timing was unsettling him (and also making Moses look like a fool in the eyes of the people because of his faith).
GOD’S BOOSTER SHOT
The Lord didn’t have to answer Moses’ questions, but in this case He knew Moses needed a reminder to come back to full faith and continued obedience (Exodus 6:1-8). The exchange is important for us to understand, for it is recorded to bolster our faith as well.
First, God reminds Moses of Who he is dealing with. “I am the LORD,” he proclaims. “Moses, don’t forget who you are questioning. I am not like an ordinary man. I am not a politician who makes a promise he cannot keep. What I say, I do.”
THIS PROMISE IS BIGGER THAN YOU
Just so Moses will remember what this is about, and that he is just a small player in a bigger picture, God reminds His servant that He made this promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob “to give them the land of Canaan.”
God is working out a grand, progressive agenda with His people and it will not stop until we stand in the ultimate Paradise with people from “every tongue, and tribe, and people, and nation.” And He is never in a hurry, but always on time.
When we are in the silent season between promise and fulfillment, we must remember that we are part of a bigger story that is always about God’s glory. We are one link in the chain that illustrates His absolute faithfulness.
I LOVE PEOPLE MORE THAN YOU
If that were not enough, He follows with a show of His perfect compassion. “Furthermore, I have heard their groaning.” God is not some cosmic robot, incapable of feeling. God created compassion and is never oblivious to the hurts and cries of those He loves.
Moses’ statements unknowingly question the integrity of God’s character. And God, quickly and graciously reminds him of the foolishness of these doubts.
God loves the prodigal child more than the most loving parent. He loves the nations more than the most ardent missionary. He loves the church more deeply than the greatest pastor. You cannot outlove Him.
I AM MORE ACTIVE THAN YOU REALIZE
God’s timing is often confusing, but always perfect. The Lord was waiting to deliver at the optimum moment when the greatest glory would be revealed and we would learn a lesson that would be recorded for all of human history. But, lest Moses think He was not going to fulfill His Word, He reminds Moses by a rapid-fire burst of seven, “I will” statements, with bookend reminders of His sovereignty.
GOD’S PROMISE TO US
Recently I was beginning to fade in faith, both in a personal matter and an issue much broader in scope. God had given me a clear promise regarding something in my family and also great faith for His coming in nationwide revival. But I had grown weary and doubting. “You have not delivered Your people at all,” was the unspoken rumbling in my soul.
Reading this marvelous reminder re-energized my faith. And then, in the way only God can orchestrate, at the exact moment the antidote was being delivered by God’s Word to me, I received a text from my friend and fellow pastor in our church.
“I’m praying this for you today,” it read. “No distrust (disappointment, fear) made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew (over a process of time, waiting) strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:21-22).
God was meeting me at the point of my unbelief, and finishing the conversation with a Divine exclamation point.
WILL YOU BELIEVE AND ENDURE IN FAITH?
Are you growing weary in well-doing today? Doubting the promises of God? Questioning His timing? About your life, your family, your work, your church…even about His willingness to send revival and awakening to our nation?
Do not give up. Do not doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light. Do not grow weary in well-doing. Listen to His voice right now:
“I AM the LORD…I WILL!
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