It may not work the first time

Exodus 5

It is normal with God to make things grow worse before He steps in to make it work and take all the glory for Himself. After all the assurances to Moses, he went with Aaron to ask Pharaoh to let the people of God go but he refused and rather increased their afflictions. Moses prayed to God about what had happened. God is with us but that does not mean there will be no rejections on the journey. When we encounter problems, we must go back to God.

What can we learn?

#1. The first step of the journey may not work as planned. (Exodus 5:1-21)

The first lesson we learn here in this chapter is that the fact that God calls you, empowers you and even does some supernatural work with you does not mean when you step out in faith, it will all work the first time. Moses had done the initial work of meeting the leaders and doing some wonders but when he came face to face with Pharaoh to let the people go, he flatly refused and mocked God. He further increased the people’s labour without assistance to compound their afflictions. God knew this before it happened and so in Exodus 3, he told Moses that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart and then with a strong hand he will let the people. Even though God is with us, we will still face challenges on the journey of life. It is normal on this side of eternity to fail ɓefore you succeed. What’s important is to do the next lesson.

#2. Go back to God for help if it does not work. (Exodus 5:22-23)

When Moses faced the challenge, he did jot give up and went back to Midia to be a shepherd, he went back to God to tell him what had happened. God knew this before it happened but Moses had to come before Him to obtain mercy and grace in time of need. Prayer is instrumental in our walk with God. James’ epistle said that we do not have because we do not ask. When we learn to come to God frequently, we are well positioned to get answers for our challenges in life. Moses didn’t go to any man nor complain to the leaders, rather he went to the same God who sent him on the mission.

God allows the enemy to have his way before He steps in to order matters for good. He allowed him to drain Job but the end of the man was far better than the former. Trust God with your challenges when you fail to succeed after you make an attempt.

Take Action: Register all your concerns to God in prayers.