Mensa Otabil - Moses Turns to God
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Exodus Chapter 5: This is our concluding study for Chapter 5, verses 22 and 23. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, «Lord, why have you brought trouble to this people? Why is it you have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people. Neither have you delivered your people at all.»
Pharaoh is probably sitting in his palace, having a good laugh because his strategy is working. He knows which buttons to press; he cannot get Moses and he cannot get God, but he presses the button of putting pressure on the people. The people put pressure on Moses, Moses goes to God, and now Moses is expressing his heart to the Lord. The good thing, at least for Moses, is he hasn’t turned against God, but instead he turns to God with questions-two questions: «Lord, why have you brought trouble to this people?»
It’s a good question. Moses probably felt that when he started the liberation process, instantly the people would be delivered. Things would go well because he has come in the name of the Lord. He hadn’t factored in Pharaoh, a long-term controller of people; he knows how to hold people in bondage. He’s like the enemy, Satan, who knows how to keep people in bondage. You don’t expect that once you use the name of Jesus, everything would work out well. No, that’s not how it worked. So Moses goes to God and starts saying, «God, why have you done this?» But he had conveniently forgotten that when God called him, He said it wasn’t going to be easy-Pharaoh is not going to let the people go easily, and God will have to show many signs before that happens.
So God is doing exactly what he said he would do, but Moses did not understand God when He first spoke to him. You know, many times God speaks clearly to us, but in our minds, we create a fantasy, and when the fantasy doesn’t happen, we say God has disappointed us. God has not disappointed us; He said exactly what was in Pharaoh’s heart, and that is what is happening. So Moses, if he had listened to God clearly, would have understood that God’s plan is going as planned. Pharaoh is not having the upper hand; God is having the upper hand, and His plan is proceeding as intended.
Then Moses says, «Lord, why did you send me? Why have you sent me?» He’s now doubting his own calling; he’s doubting his mission, he’s doubting his purpose, and in a sense, Moses is feeling, «Oh God, maybe I’m not even capable of doing this. Maybe I took on too much.» That’s why Satan wants to instill self-doubt in you, where you don’t believe what God told you, you don’t believe what God can use you for, and you don’t believe God’s purpose for your life. Because when he gets you there, you sabotage God’s plan. The devil can never sabotage God’s plan, but he can get you, the child of God, to sabotage it. And that’s what he’s doing; he presses the right buttons.
The people turn against Moses, Moses turns against himself, against his calling, against his purpose, and against all that God has spoken to him. Now he is doubting what the Lord said to him. I pray you never get to the point where, under pressure, you doubt what God said to you. When life gets tough, you shouldn’t throw away your own purpose and say, «Oh, I don’t think my life will amount to anything. I don’t think what God said to me is true. I don’t think it will come to pass.»
God doesn’t fail in His word. Check what He told you; check His word, and you will realize His promises are clear. You probably had a fantasy about the promise, but His promises and His word are clear. He had said to Moses, «It’s going to be with a hard and mighty hand that I deliver the people because I know Pharaoh, and I know his game plan. But I’m going to face him and get you out.» If Moses had paid attention, he and the people would not be in this conundrum. I pray that God opens your eyes to understand that His purpose for you cannot be sabotaged by anybody else except yourself. May you not sabotage God’s plan for your life.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you have called me for your purposes. Help me to be the right person you want me to be for your assignment. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.