When No is still Right
Sometimes it feels as if life goes wrong more than it goes right. Do you agree? I don’t think it’s actually true, but our emotions tell us otherwise. Just like one unkind comment requires about ten compliments to undo its sting, I think one poor circumstance or outcome is never erased by a single success.I was recently in Exodus for my priority time, reading about Moses following God’s instructions. He was to approach Pharaoh and ask him to let the children of Israel go so they could worship God. You may recall that the Lord sent ten plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians before Pharaoh finally dropped all his conditions and allowed the Israelites to leave clear and free.In the midst of those ten plagues, the Lord kept instructing Moses on what to tell the children of Israel and what to tell Pharaoh. At the same time, the Lord clearly and repeatedly told Moses that He was hardening Pharaoh’s heart and that Pharaoh would not do as Moses insisted.Have you ever contemplated what a tough place this must have been for Moses? Despite all his hesitations, he was stepping up and fulfilling the role God gave him. The result? He faced chaos and hatred from every corner. The Israelites began to doubt Moses. At the same time, Pharaoh’s arrogant and constantly changing approach had to be maddening. If I were Moses, at some point long before the tenth plague, I would’ve convinced myself that I must’ve misunderstood. I don’t know if I’d have had the fortitude to keep going back.In God’s economy, however, Moses was fulfilling his role. Every time Moses got a “no” from Pharaoh, it was just what God wanted. God had a bigger agenda in mind than overpowering Pharaoh. Check out Exodus 10:1-2…
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”
The thought that we can get a “no” from doing God’s work and still be in the midst of God’s will is a head spinner. When you do God’s will, isn’t it supposed to turn out rosy and full of sunshine? Not always.
Circumstances can never be what we use in order to determineif we’re following the Lord.
We must be like Moses. We must come before the Lord in humility. We must listen closely. We must follow explicitly. And then we must trust Him with the results. There are occasions in our faith when our circumstances will not confirm that we’re obeying. Just as smooth sailing is not an accurate indicator of our obedience, neither are choppy waters a guarantee that it’s time to jump ship.I encourage you to consider:
- Where in life are you attempting to follow the Lord and not getting the results you desire?
- Where are you allowing circumstances to guide you, rather than the Lord?
May we move beyond circumstances and into a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father so we can know, regardless of our circumstances, if we are pleasing Him.