Have you ever failed on your first day of obedience? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our MOSES series with a message about being faithful even when it feels fruitless.
Exodus 5:1-2
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
The first day of Moses’ mission to rescue God’s people begins with a resounding thud. Instead of setting the Israelites free, Pharaoh makes their work even harder. What do you need to remember when your first day of obedience is a failure?
1) Failure isn’t final, but it might be a part of the plan.
God needed to wrestle Moses from all things a leader loves to hear from his people. And God needed the people to see that their own efforts, even their own leaders, could not save them.
It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.
A.W. Tozer
It might seem unkind, but only because we don’t always understand God’s wisdom, even in our wounds.
2) Sometimes obedience creates opposition before open doors.
Obedience doesn’t always yield the result we were imagining. We are confused when our obedience “doesn’t work,” But our obedience is not doing the work, God is. We obey because we trust that he is working even when we can’t see it.
3) Complaining is contagious.
Behaviors spread through networks of family, friends and coworkers like a virus. When you complain you are infecting the people around you with a distorted view of God, a small view of his purposes and plan.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
When we are grateful, we are eyes-open to God’s gifts and God’s will. When we grumble, we don’t just become bitter, we become blind to God’s plan.
4) Thorns are better than thrones.
When Moses complains to God about his suffering, God reminds him that he had shown himself to Moses in a way his ancestors never knew. Just like the Apostle Paul boasted about the thorn in his flesh more than his vision of the throne of God, Moses could see purpose even in this moment of failure.
Hebrews 5:8-9
Although Jesus was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.
Jesus was tested in every way we are, and he learned perfect obedience. When he went to the cross, the first day of his obedience looked like utter failure. It wasn’t until the third day that he was victorious, delivering his people from sin and death and into the promise of eternal life!
