When we are in the middle of the darkest times of our life, hope can feel impossible, even foolish. We long for God to intervene. We may even question whether God notices, cares, or is as good as we know we should believe He is. Maybe you can automatically think of a time in your life when the dark was so thick you couldn’t see a way out. Maybe you’re living it now, whether personally or sharing in our whole world’s collective groaning.
For countless generations, people across eras and cultures have found solace in Exodus, a tale of a people suffering under the boot of a cruel ruler. Though Exodus ultimately tells a story of triumph, it didn’t start that way. Moses and Aaron’s first visit to Pharaoh was a failure, at least on the surface.
The plan seemed clear. Moses was given two signs to show God’s power to Pharaoh. When the Israelite elders saw these miracles, it was enough to rekindle their hope. Finally, God answered them! And “when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped” (Exodus 4:31). Of course, Pharaoh would be impressed too, right? Maybe even afraid of a bigger, truer God he couldn’t dare defy?
But after Moses and Aaron’s first meeting with Pharaoh, things only got worse. They weren’t asking Pharaoh to free all the enslaved people just yet. They asked for a few days off, a festival reprieve for the Israelites (Exodus 5:1).
Instead of believing, Pharaoh mocked. Instead of seeing weary fellow humans, he saw lazy, whining slaves. Instead of compassion, he heaped more impossible demands on them. It’s calculated, astonishing cruelty, meant to break their spirits and keep them in their place. And for a time, it worked. After moving his family to Egypt for a mission he barely felt qualified for, Moses found himself questioning the point of it all, asking God, “Why did you ever send me?…You haven’t rescued your people at all” (vv.22–23).
And still, God sees. God’s response is an appeal to the past, a reminder of the covenant He made with their ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—even before they knew His name. God saw exactly what was happening. He heard their pain, He saw the violence, and He hadn’t forgotten His promise.
“Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the LORD…[I] will rescue you from slavery….I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.” —Exodus 6:6
We know how this story goes, how it extends and echoes throughout the narrative of Scripture. We can now see it as a preamble to the ongoing story of redemption, a story with places in the middle where God seems slow and absent and silent. And in those middle places, in the brutal days and dark nights of their labor, God is still working. The rescue is only beginning.
On the other side of incredibly dark times I’m so grateful that I can look back and see how my God was moving even when we didn’t feel it or at all see it at the time. In the last two years my husband and I both lost our fathers who weren’t even 60, lost both my paternal grandparents after my dad, my 14 year old daughters best friend took his own life and my family of six and a Great Pyrenees spent 6 months (not consecutively) in hotels due to two septic tank floods in our home. That’s been fixed now. I say all this just to share that we have been through some serious dark stuff and while much of it still lingers, the Lord has been so present in my life and continues to strengthen me every day. I also am watching my husband and children grow at their own paces as they handle their grief and begin trusting the Lord for their comfort and joy. I know he’s pulling us into deeper relationship with Him and with one another and I praise Him for that!
Hi! I live outside Nashville and just want to say I’m so sorry you’ve experienced this in our town! If you don’t already have a church home, we would love for you to come visit us at Judson Baptist, just south of town almost in Brentwood. Our kids ministry is wonderful and safe, our church family is loving and we have several families who homeschool that you could connect with and receive support from!
Victoria White, you are right that the spiritual warfare is real and strong right now. I also homeschool and find that so many people are against us, who we are not just what we choose to do. I will pray for you, to find a community of like minded people and that those in your complex will have a change of heart and be glad to welcome your family. Please know you are not alone, though I am sure it feels that way right now. God’s on this, in his timing. Hugs!
There is SO much truth to unpack in today’s reading! I really enjoyed it! Here’s what I got from it:
-v.5 If we refuse to obey God, I’d be hard pressed to wonder whether we really know Him.
-vv.6-19 Obeying God doesn’t always mean that difficult circumstances will be made easier and/or disappear altogether. Nor is obedience a 1-way ticket to an easy, comfortable life.
-v.22 Don’t allow difficult circumstances to cause you to question God’s purpose for your life.
-vv.2-8 God chooses to remind Moses of what He’s done, who He is, & what He’ll do.
-v.9 The people’s difficult circumstances & pain cloud their view of God’s true character & promises.
Thank you Holy Spirit!
Praying for you and your cat’s safe return.
Glory, praying for you and all of your community. May God give you peace and rest and comfort the families involved.
Praying for supernatural strength and grace for what you are going through!
Thank full… His truth, who He is, is all we need. In the brutal dark days & nights God is still there, working, where we may feel He is absent or slow, His truth come shining through, He has never left and He never will, He knows, lay it at His feet, give Him control, let Him lead ❤️