The amazing patience of God (2)

So Moses and Aaron went to Egypt and gathered all the Israelite leaders together. Aaron told them everything that the LORD had said to Moses, and then Moses performed all the miracles in front of the people. They believed, and when they heard that the LORD had come to them and had seen how they were being treated cruelly, they bowed down and worshipped. (verses 29-31)

Read Exodus 4: 14-31

Have you ever worried yourself silly about something you know you have to do but don’t want to? You think about how it’s likely to go, and you see clearly all the things that could go wrong and, in your mind, it always does go wrong. Then the time comes and passes, and everything works out right, and you wonder why you made such a fuss about it.

If God were like you and me (and thank goodness he’s not), he would have been presenting Moses with a big, ‘I told you so’ in this section of Exodus. God had assured him that all would tum out right, but Moses had misgivings, doubts—and perhaps a healthy dose of disbelief. And yet, in the end, it all turned out as God said it would.

One day we Christians will really learn to trust God. Time and time again God shows us the folly of worrying, the foolishness of trying to handle things he has promised to help us through. And time and time again we find ourselves the victims of self-inflicted wounds. We experience needless anxiety that we bring on ourselves.

The wonder of it all is that our gracious God continues to hang in there for us. Thank God that he does!

Lord you have given me countless reasons why I should trust you completely. Open my eyes and heart so that I will trust you completely. Amen.

by Robert Turnbull, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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