Excuses, Excuses Part II

Good morning! Happy Tuesday!

I will confess that I am a little behind in my reading. And today is the day that I'm going to catch up. So, don't feel bad if you fall behind too. You'll find time to catch up. In my Year of the Bible book, I mark off the chapters I've read. That way, when I get a chance, I go back and look at the ones I missed and read those. Just a tip from someone who is always a day late and a dollar short!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Mon, Jan 26: Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?” Jesus tells a parable as part of his answer. At the end of the story, what does the master do to the servant? (Matt 18)
Matthew 18:31-34 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

And here's today's question of the day:
Tues, Jan. 27: What is Moses disappointed about at the end of Exodus 5?

Remember, these answers are just what was in my mind as I was writing the question. It doesn't mean I'm right and you're wrong. I'd be interested in hearing from you if you disagree with me!

And here's today's reflection:
Excuses, Excuses Part II
I mentioned yesterday that someone told me she reads ahead because some parts of Genesis were so interesting. Well, now we're into the Exodus story and this is a serious page turner. It's one I can't stop reading.

As I read Exodus 5 and 6 this morning, I thought about what I wrote about excuses yesterday. Finally Moses gets up the courage to do what God is asking him to do and look what happens: his first mission is a failure. Not only does Pharaoh NOT let the Israelites being held in slavery go, but he INCREASES work associated with the brick production. And Moses is disappointed and maybe even a little bit angry. Exodus 5:22-23 Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."

Things are not exactly going according to plan. Well, things aren't going according to Moses' plan at least. God hasn't given Moses all the details of His plan yet. But to Moses, he thinks he has done all God has asked him to and that God has let him down. In fact, if you didn't know the end of the story, it kinda looks like God set Moses up to fail, doesn't it? But God is not done yet. God's plan is much bigger than Moses realizes.

So it would seem that God is not a fan of taking shortcuts. He is not content to do things the easy way. And that is difficult for us to understand. How many times have we found ourselves in this situation? We finally put aside our excuses and say "Yes" to whatever it is God is calling us to do, and then BAM, on our first mission, we get shot down. We finally take that leap of faith, and just like Moses, we are disappointed when our situations don't change instantly.

We give up a lot more easily than God does. And praise the Lord for His mercy and patience with us!! You probably know the end of this story--you know God does deliver the Israelites from slavery eventually, BUT Moses and Aaron must endure a lot of disappointment and failure before Pharaoh changes his mind.

And this reminds me of the Canaanite woman from Sunday's sermon. She is a lesson in perseverance of faith. Even though in the disciples' eyes she was worthless because she broke all the rules, she knew God played by a different set of rules. She was persistent and her faith was rewarded.

When we take the leap of faith and it seems like we're failing, we need to be persistent. God's plan is always bigger than we can see. We can't give up just because we fail the first time. That is probably not the end of God's plan. There's still more to come. So, let me encourage you if you feel like you leapt out in faith and fallen flat. God is not done with you yet, just like He isn't finished with Moses yet in Exodus 6. God is just getting started with Moses--and he's just getting started with you and me. Don't give up now!

Keep the faith!
Allison

PS If you need some extra encouragement, just peek ahead in the Exodus story and see what God does through Moses. God wants to work through you too!