When I clean out a closet, I make a mess. I pull out all kinds of stuff to sort through before tossing the old junk and putting what's left neatly back in place. When I'm doing yard work, sometimes it looks like a mess. I've got yard tools out, trimmed limbs lying around the bushes, and I'm a sweaty, smelly person.
Sometimes when things are in process, they seem to get worse before they get better.
In Exodus 5-6:1, Moses and Aaron go to Pharoah, requesting Israel's release, and Pharoah makes it harder on the people of Israel. God sends Moses to rescue the people of Israel and the people actually have it worse!
The people complain to Moses, and Moses complains to God. And God's response: Now you'll see what I will do.
God does work through the messes of our lives for good. Was this God's way of showing His strength and power and just how much He could overcome? He did say before that Pharoah's heart would be hardened.
Was this God's necessary pre-requisite in order for Israel to follow through on this change, not turning back to their old life? It's the process of change that is sometimes uncomfortable for us. But it's only when it's more painful to stay the same that we choose to change.
If you're seeking God, maybe some of the mess you're going through in the short-term is evidence that God is in the process of making it better for the long-term. Maybe it's God's way of showing just what He can do in the face of the storms of life. Take encouragement that sometimes we need to be uncomfortable enough to recognize the areas of our lives that God wants to shape and mold into something so much better than we would settle for on our own.
The paradox of insular language
7 months ago
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