After Moses delivered the Lord’s message to Pharaoh demanding he let Israel go, notice his reaction: “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord?
Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2 NLT). Outraged at Moses’ request,
Pharaoh punished the Hebrews by eliminating the straw needed to make bricks, only increasing their grueling burden. This then angered the Hebrews toward
Moses, causing them to turn against him.
In his anguish, Moses cried out to God, saying, “…Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since
I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!” (vv. 22,23). Yet the Lord
had warned Moses that Pharaoh would not agree until the pressure had become unbearable.
The same thing happens today when people complain about how bad things are with the economy, the media, the government, and immorality. Yet Jesus warned
us that the closer it gets to His return, the more this world would resemble the days of Noah and Lot.
Noah was the only righteous man alive in his generation, and there were only ten righteous people where Lot lived. Today’s difficult conditions aren’t
nearly as desperate as theirs were. Jesus warned that in this dark world, there would be trouble. Yet He instructed us to remain untroubled because
He has overcome the world (John 16:33)! How do we obey that divine command? By sinking our teeth into God’s promises like never before.
Moses was unwise to accuse God of doing “nothing” just because he didn’t see immediate results. In the same way, what we see or don’t see in the natural
is never an indication of whether God is working. He always does what He promises.
“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and
not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19 NLT).
God is always at work bringing to pass what He has declared, but the kingdom of darkness is resistant. Daniel provides us with insight into what is taking
place when we don’t see immediate change:
“But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him
there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Daniel 10:13 NLT).
We are in a spiritual battle that our natural eyes are unable to see. While the battle is raging, we must stand our ground in faith, believing God will
do just what He promised.
“Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all the crisis
demands, to stand [firmly in your place]” (Ephesians 6:13 AMP).
When we are equipped with God’s armor we are able to resist and stand our ground in the battles we face.
