Moses

Last week as we began our new sermon series on depression, our focus was; In times of depression, we must acknowledge that we don't need to know everything God is doing to trust Him. So this week, our focus will be; In times of depression, we can believe that God is at work and keeps His promises, even when our circumstances seem overwhelming.

We all want good things in our lives. But because we live in a fallen world, life is full of what we could interpret as interruptions or detours on our path. As we deal with the unexpected, we must look to God to guide us in the next step or toward the next milestone. 

Our usual instinct is to want deliverance from whatever has derailed us from our plan. We can be tempted to ask, "When God?" If we have been waiting for something for a while, or if prayer isn't answered the way we think it should be, it can start to feel as though God didn’t hear our prayer or doesn't want to answer even though he could. So how do we wait for an answer—his answer—and submit to his timing without becoming bitter? 

There is no easy answer, but the Bible provides numerous examples of men and women (Job,Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, and Hannah, to name a few) who had to wait for God to answer.  As they waited, they probably felt confused by his silence, wondering what they should do next. But their examples of patience and perseverance show us that waiting is part of what it means to walk in faith.

God has us on a trajectory toward what is good. He sees the whole picture and knows that our solutions to the issues will not take us where he wants to get us quite often. We want the fix now, but his timing is perfect, even though the answer might seem delayed to us. God's answers happen at precisely the right time! God is working out his master plan. We can trust that it is for a good purpose when He has us wait.

In Exodus, we read about a time with Moses could have easily been discouraged or depressed. Moses faced an overwhelming situation and was discouraged. Israel's circumstances were depressing, and as Moses could tell, God wasn't moving very quickly to do anything about it. How God responded to Moses helps us know how to deal with our discouragement and depression. 

Moses had done what God told him to. He had risked everything and confronted Pharaoh, telling him to let Israel go from Egyptian captivity. But instead of making the situation better, it got worse. Pharaoh oppressed Israel even more than before, abusing them and making their lives unbearable. Verses 2-5 contain three critically important elements. The first is that God reminded Moses that He was Yahweh. God reminded Moses that He was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. The second element is the reaffirmation from Yahweh that He was, indeed, the One who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This also carried the reminder, by mentioning the Patriarchs, that God had made a covenant with them that He ultimately intended to keep. The third element is that He heard the groaning of the Israelites. God was mindful of their pain, suffering, and oppression. Not only was God mindful, but He was already working toward their deliverance to keep His covenant. We can be comforted that in the darkest moments of our lives, God hears our cries. 

In verse 9, Moses returned to the Israelites, who were in a more miserable condition than they were the first time he spoke to them about God. Moses repeated everything God had told him to communicate to the Israelite community. There are four "I will" statements in this section that emphasize God's work to deliver His people. Even in light of God's great reassurance to Moses to pass along to the Israelites, they refused to listen to Moses. Scripture paints the picture painfully clearly. The Israelites did not listen to Moses. 

Crushed by their current plight, they could not receive the hope of deliverance because their present reality dictated what they believed God could or would do. Fresh off of his rejection by the Israelites, God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. Thinking back to his call narrative, the rejection of his own people was one of Moses' greatest fears. Now with his confidence shaken and no one backing his leading, Moses faced another confrontation with Pharaoh. 

We might sum up the lesson Moses was learning and what God wants to teach us when we are discouraged and depressed this way: Don't lean on your own understanding, God's ways are higher, and He is at work. The truths of the Bible remind us that God is always in control and working for His people, even when we don't see it. 

Thank God that He is always at work, even in our most difficult circumstances and defeating outlooks. Ask Him to help you rest in the hope of His promises during the current seasons of life, both good and bad. Finally, pray that the Holy Spirit would expand your understanding of the majesty and splendor of God.