How waiting on God strengthens faith

Have you ever felt like the Lord spoke to you and you had to wait a long time to see it come to pass?  I am not always very patient as I long for what He said to be fulfilled. Sometimes I get discouraged and wonder, “Did God really say that? Is this really going to happen?” I’ve been reading through the story of Moses and I identify with his humanity. I notice things this time that I hadn’t noticed before, things like his discouragement during the waiting.

“I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.” Exodus 3:19-20

Before the exodus, before the parting of the Red Sea, before Pharaoh let the Israelites go, Moses questioned if it was ever going to happen. God had told Moses he would free them but Moses, like us, became confused and discouraged when things didn’t unfold the way he expected. God had warned Moses that Pharaoh wouldn’t just agree to let the Israelites go when Moses got down there.

Moses knew, “all wonders” were going to have to be performed on the Egyptians. The Lord did not tell Moses there would be 10 plagues that would come on Egypt, He just referenced them as “wonders.” Moses didn’t know how many there would be, how long they would last, or how many times Pharaoh would say, “No.” Moses may have been under the impression that he would meet with Pharaoh once, God would show some wonders, and the Israelites would be freed.

There would be a lot of perseverance on this quest. A lot of trusting the Lord would be needed for Moses to get up each day and go back to the palace to confront the king again and again with no hope in sight.

The Lord may not have told Moses about ALL the plagues that would fall on Egypt or about Pharaohs tenacity. But the Lord did tell Moses what the last plague would be-that Pharaoh’s firstborn son would die.

Exodus 4:21-23

The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do…Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”

Sometimes God gives us sneak peaks into our lives. He gives us a scripture to hang onto. He gives us hope for our loved ones. He gives us faith about a job, our health, or a move. But we don’t know how much blood, sweat and tears are going to go into the things God placed on our hearts. God doesn’t need us to know all those things. He just needs us to hang onto Him and hang onto hope.

When Moses goes to confront Pharaoh for the first time, I imagine all the Hebrews held their breath, dropped to their knees in prayer, and waited anxiously for Moses and Aaron to come back. They thought that this might be the moment God was going to come through and free them. I think Moses thought this might be the moment. What happened? Pharaoh responded with a big fat “No!”

Not only that, he made the Israelites work MUCH harder by telling the slave drivers not to supply them with straw to make brick. Instead, the Israelites were to go get their own straw and STILL make the same number of bricks in a day. Here the Israelites thought Moses might be freeing them from slavery and instead they’re getting more work than ever. So they tell Moses and Aaron off.

Exodus 5:1-21-23

“…they said, ‘May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’

Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.’”

See that? Moses sees no hope in sight. Everything seems to be getting worse, not better. Why did God bring him out here? Imagine if Moses had just given up right then, packed up, and gone home. There would have been no freedom for the Israelites, no Israelites nation, no Israelite kings, or the stories we read about in the Bible leading down to Jesus. But he didn’t give up. God knew he wouldn’t. God chose the right person.

There have been many times I felt the Lord spoke to me about my healing. But I had no idea it would be 10+ years of disability and chronic illness before I would see that healing. I still don’t know when that full healing will be. God did not show me that there would be layers of supernatural healing (I should not be alive in the natural today). However, God didn’t show me that that there would be hundreds of layers I would have to fight tooth and nail for.

When I was sick and tired of doctors not believing me or helping me, I’d have to persevere and choose to still go to another doctor, and another, and another. I’d have to do exactly what they asked me to do-in order to see if their therapy worked. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t. I’ve also been to many physical therapists. Doctors and physical therapists always tell me I’m the “ideal patient” because I actually do what they ask me to do. That’s nothing magnificent. You’d think every patient would do that, the bare minimum, what your medical professional asks you to do. But it takes perseverance to do what they say. It takes asking God each day for help.

On top of all these doctors and physical therapists, I’ve done tons of health supplements, essential oils, and seen many holistic doctors. I’m not against traditional doctors or medicines. I’m on 30 prescription medications just to keep me alive and this well. I’ve done ozone shots, plasma replacement procedures. I do biweekly infusions, and I continue to fight for each and any layer of healing I can get.

I’m glad God didn’t tell me how difficult it would be. I’m glad He gave me promises of healing. If He hadn’t, I may not have fought so hard. God’s promises held me through some dark times. They still do. Moses believed God’s promise of Israel’s deliverance and that helped him go back to the place he fled: Egypt.

How many weeks/months did the plagues last? How many nights did Moses go to bed wondering if they ever were going to leave? Maybe Moses had fears cross his mind like “Pharaoh might slaughter us all.” Maybe when each new plague came upon the land Moses got nervous and wondered if Pharaoh would come after him, his wife, or his kids. We know his wife and kids came out with him, and he sent them back to Midian at some point, maybe that’s why.

While Pharaoh worsened the slaves’ labor, God spoke to Moses and encouraged him.

“Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go…

 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.’” Exodus 6: 1,6

This is exactly what Moses needed to hear. He probably felt infused with inspiration as he made his way to the Israelites to tell them what God had said. But they did not react the way he may have expected.

^“Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

Then the Lord said to Moses,“Go, tell Pharaoh King of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”

But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” Exodus 6:9-12

After the Israelites reacted so poorly to what God had said, Moses lost all confidence. But our confidence isn’t to come from how others react but from what our Creator says. Isn’t He the one who sees all? Doesn’t He know more than humans? If a human says a thing, we may or may not be able to trust it. If God almighty shows us something, we can count on it. But it might not come in the timing, or way we think.

The story of Exodus is one that’s been told for thousands of years. It astonishes people what God did for the Israelites. It seems like an adventure movie to us. When they were walking through it, not knowing when, or if, they would ever be free, it was hard for them to trust the Lord. It took faith. It took looking to the Lord to give them guidance for today. Many of those days were difficult days with Pharaoh saying, “No”, their labor being increased, their fear being intensified, one plague, two plague, three plague etc. falling on the land. They must have wondered if this horror story would ever end. It did. God delivered them from a land of slavery into a land of promise.

He can do that for us too. The road may sometimes be treacherous. Our labor may sometimes be increased. Plagues may drop into our story, and it takes us looking to God one day at a time for guidance. Whatever He promised He will deliver you through, He will. He is faithful to His promises and He is with us through the ride.