The Reminder God

"Let the labor be heavier on the men..." -Ex. 5:9

Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. The first time Moses went to Pharoah to let the Israelites go free, Pharoah effectively said, "Whatever, Moses. I'm going to make your lazy people work even harder." Pharoah gave everybody more work. And when they couldn't meet their quota of bricks, Pharoah beat them.

Obviously, the Israelites got pretty upset. They didn't appreciate Moses speaking to Pharoah. They told Moses, in so many words, "You suck." So, Moses went back to God and whined, "O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?" (v. 22).

The hardship Moses experienced made him question God. Specifically, he questioned: Why the hardship? And, why me? Then, stereotypically, God didn't even attempt to answer Moses' questions. He just said, "I am God. Go tell Israel I am God, and go tell Pharoah to let My people go" (6:1-13). In other words, God reminded Moses of who He was and reaffirmed His plan.

When God is doing something, He's going to do it. Sometimes that means hardship for His people. Sometimes that means more work. Sometimes that means it gets worse before it gets better. Nevertheless, in the thick of it all, God will remind us who He is and what His plan is.