I've been telling you a bit about my next-door neighbor, the Bible. The more I visit Him, the more puzzled, amazed, encouraged and speechless I become.
Speechless mainly because every disturbing thing that happens to us here seems to have a precedent in biblical history. I'm sure you have experienced a time frame in which you were feverishly praying for things to improve and yet they only got worse. For heaven's sake, where is God?
My day's read at YouVersion is about Moses being called upon by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Now Moses wasn't revved up about being chosen to start with, and he just about gets himself killed by God in Exodus 4-5 through his whining and complaining. To make matters worse, after his first attempt of following God to the letter, the results are worse for the Israelites. Their slave conditions went from bad to worse, much worse.
Exodus 5:22-23 (MSG): Moses went back to God and said, "My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharoah to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?"
Aren't these our very feelings toward God, maybe our very words: "Does this look like rescue to you, God?"
Hindsight teaches us this: when things go from bad to worse and you are following God every step of the way, look out: He is up to something so big that it is beyond your current comprehension. Lament, cry, ask God what in the world He is doing but please, just don't give up.
Read the rest of the story--the freeing of the Israelites. Be present for the rest of your story--let God's bigger picture be your rescue.
