Hang In There!

Have you ever gone somewhere and soon found yourself asking why you had come? Perhaps you went with certain expectations, but things did not begin turning out as anticipated. THE GOING may have been with a noble purpose in mind, but the initial results were discouraging. Did you leave? Did you at least consider it? Or did you remain to ultimately realize (even if it was days or years later) that YOUR GOING had accomplished something?

Israel was enslaved in Egypt and Moses was sent as God’s deliverer. Though it was with reluctance that he accepted God’s calling (note his excuses, Exodus 4:1, 10, &13), Moses DID GO with God’s assurance of how His power would be demonstrated to the people to convince them he had been sent by God. ( Exodus 4:2-9) However, when Pharaoh first refused to let the people go and made the work harder on them, the people got mad at Moses for having come and made their situation worse. ( Exodus 5:21)

Note Moses’ reaction.
“(22) Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, ‘O LORD, why have you done evil to this people? WHY DID YOU EVER SEND ME? (23) For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.’” ( Exodus 5:22-23 ESV)

Would you say that Moses was discouraged? The situation did not look good. Things were not working out in the way Moses had anticipated. His discouragement was also revealed in his words, “…the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me…?” ( Exodus 6:12 ESV)

God continued to encourage Moses who stuck with the charge he and his brother Aaron had been given. As Moses confronted Pharaoh the anticipated results were still not immediate, but after the tenth plague the Israelites were eagerly allowed to go.

When we are involved in seeking to serve the Lord’s purposes, some of the reactions of those around us may easily discourage us. We may wonder many times how much benefit our actions or presence can actually have. Nevertheless, AS WE GO through life there will be many ways in which we can impact the lives of others. I remember a trip we made out of town that initially seemed as if it were for nothing because the service that night was canceled for weather related reasons. However, about a year later we found out that a couple we had spoken to that night as we waited eventually became Christians. They had enjoyed our visit and returned on another occasion and were drawn into the fellowship there. This couple has reminded my wife and I of that first encounter several times since. I also recently received a card from an individual in our community thanking me for support I had provided a couple years ago.

In many situations we may never know the full impact of our HAVING GONE. The important thing is to hang in there, allowing God to use us in whatever ways He can, knowing that service done for His glory and praise will produce some profitable results along the way.

Have a great day WILLING TO SERVE AS WE JOURNEY ON!
Carl

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