GOD CAN TAKE IT

Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” —Exodus 5:22, 23

We all have days like this. We feel like we were trying to do the right thing, even what God has called us to do. We have mustered our courage and put in our best effort. And nothing changes. Or we feel as if all we have done is make the situation worse.

After their initial enthusiasm, the people were now turning on Moses, and Moses was directing his anger, fear, and disappointment toward God.

Some might argue that Moses and the people should have simply continued praising God nonetheless, ignoring their worsening circumstances and the demands to make more bricks with fewer resources. But Moses vented his frustrations to God in blunt terms, accusing God of only making their situation worse. Remarkably, God did not rebuke Moses or the people. He was big enough to take their criticism and absorb their anger.

It seems He understood the frustration and fears of these people who had been enslaved for generations, who had begun to hope but were now feeling the brunt of the Egyptians’ power and cruelty. Instead, God assured Moses that He had only just begun to work on their behalf. After Moses’ initial attempts to bring change, “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do’ ” (Exodus 6:1). He reminded Moses that He had been the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but that the Israelite people would now see and know more of God than their ancestors had. “Then you will know,” God promised, “that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:7), introducing a description that He would later use to remind them of what He had done throughout their history.