NEVER QUIT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. 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?" Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it." Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh." Exodus 6:9-12, 7:1-7

God has spoken once again to Moses at the beginning of Chapter 6 and reassured him that he would do as he said He would. For He was a God who kept His promises and he referenced Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of examples of ancestors who He saw through difficult times. This time would be no different with the Israelites as they bore the burden of the Egyptian oppression.

So Moses goes back to the people of Israel to tell them what God has told him but he has to be disappointed as the Israelites "did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage." I often wonder if this doesn’t happen to us as well today. We try to encourage others who are going through difficult times and hope to help them be uplifted and encouraged only to be rebuffed. The pain and anguish from the person’s particular suffering is too much for them to overcome and no person is going to make them feel any better. Maybe you have been there yourself at some time in your life. I know I have. So I can understand how someone would not be terribly receptive to words of encouragement that offer little more than faith in something that is yet to come. Yet…we, as servants of God are not to give up even as we face discouragement…even as we face rejection. We are never to quit in carrying out what God wants us to do.

For Moses, after he is rejected by the Israelites, is immediately approached by God again who commands him to "Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country." But Moses has had enough. He cries out to the Lord, ""If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?" Moses doubted himself and his ability to properly carry out what God asked him to do.

Question: Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt inadequate in carrying out God’s will? I can tell you that this is the weapon that Satan uses against us more than any other when it comes to attempting to thwart us in carrying out the Great Commission and helping minister to others. For Satan wants us to feel inadequate…like we don’t size up…like we don’t have the skills to succeed.
He gets us to forget that we’re not doing anything by our own strength but only the strength of the Lord within us. He gets us to feel like we’re in this ministry all alone, trying to make us forget that the Lord is right there with us. He wants us to feel ineffective when people reject our attempts to minister and blinds us to the reality that everyone has a free will and their rejection of us isn’t an indicator of our inadequacy but rather a person’s stubborn resistance to trust in the Lord to take care of their problem. Satan would say give up. God says, "Never quit…no matter what."

We see that the Lord never quits on Moses, even when he quits on himself. He tells Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it." In other words, Moses and Aaron will speak a lot of words that Pharoah will reject but God will have the last word…and it is His word that will gain the final victory of deliverance for Israel…just as His final word grants us victory today.

For Jesus is born today in the town of Bethlehem…born not only to live and teach us all we could ever hope to learn about living life the way God expects…but also born to die, bearing our sins on the cross, defeating death and opening the way to eternal life through His resurrection. God, through Jesus had the final word over Satan, as He conquered death and the grave, entering into life forever at the right hand of the Father. The good news is that through Jesus Christ who comes to us this day, we need never lose hope…for we all have the victory now and forever.

So on the Christmas day and for every day forth as we enter a new year and beyond, stay encouraged in your work for the Lord. Stay empowered by His strength to make it through whatever challenges might come your way. And never….never quit. God is with you, no matter the circumstances…no matter the difficulties. Trust and believe in the victorious Lord you serve and thanks be to Him for the gift of His Son Jesus…our Savior, Redeemer and Friend. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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