Though God remains the same, our seasons change. Our lives change. We pray for changes to come for our hearts long for something different.
The Israelites were held in bondage in Egypt for over 400 years. They prayed for freedom from the oppression. God heard their cries and raised up Moses to deliver them from slavery. Under God’s divine direction, Moses boldly faced the Pharaoh with his brother, Aaron, by his side.
Often we, God’s children, think that just because God tells us to do something, then it should be easy. That with every step we take, it should be smooth transition. However, often what we encounter is rocky terrain.
Moses went to the Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’”
Pharaoh didn’t like being told what to do by a God he did not know. So he refused and made life even more difficult for the Hebrew slaves.
Moses pleaded with the Lord about the worsening conditions. God responded to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go, because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
So again under divine direction Moses returned to the Pharaoh and again Pharaoh was unyielding. This happened a total of ten times. Ten times! After each time God sent a plague and Pharaoh rationalized the cause was anything but God. And after each plague, Moses prayed to God and God spoke to Moses giving him instruction.
My friends, when we hear from God that He desires to do a new thing in our lives and move us in a different direction, we will encounter difficult situations. It does not always mean we missed God, but it could mean we need to press through. The only way we know to press through or not is to have communion with God.
When we pray, God desires to speak with us too. But we must learn to be still long enough to listen. Moses facing Pharaoh and being rejected nine times was just the beginning of this difficult transition.
After the final plague, Pharaoh released the Hebrew people. God kept His word, but it didn’t happen without the opposition. Because of this, the people witnessed numerous miracles, including the parting of the sea where they crossed on dry ground so they could escape from the Egyptians who changed their minds about their release.
Yet, when they were safe in the desert away from their captors, their celebrations were short-lived. After three days of not finding any water, the people began to complain to Moses. Again, Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him what to do.
Where did Moses find grace to deal with the difficulties in the transition? He went to the Lord. What did the Lord do? God instructed Moses on what to do.
Friends, our seasons are changing and God is doing a new thing. When God does a new thing in our lives, that means we will go through a transition period. That period will not always be easy. However, we find grace for the transition when we cry out to the Lord. He is ready to give us step by step instructions on how to handle each situation.
© 2013 Shonda Savage
