Exodus 5:22-23
Have you ever heard someone say that they feel they’re between “a rock and a hard place?” It is a way of expressing the impossibility of a situation, one in which there doesn’t seem to be any solution. Well, when Moses first went to Egypt, he found himself between a rock and a hard place. Things didn’t seem to go according to plan. God had promised that He would deliver His people. Moses would be His chosen instrument. However, things got worse before they got better. Pharaoh increased the workload of the Israelites and demanded that they produce the same number of bricks, even though they were not given straw. The people then blamed Moses for their troubles. Moses cried out to the Lord and blamed Him in verse 22, “O Lord, why have You done evil to this people? Why did You ever send me?” It appeared to Moses that God had not delivered His people like He promised. Such disappointment was critical in the Lord’s formation of Moses as a man and as a leader. He needed to learn that he was in a helpless situation and that his strength was insufficient. The Lord says to him in the very next verse, “Now you shall see What I will do. I am the Lord!” No less than four times in chapter 6 does God remind Moses, “I am the Lord.” No less than seven times does He say, “I will.”
God often uses the pain and disappointment of life to reveal Himself to us in greater and more powerful ways. When we know Him, and when we understand that He is in control, then we can experience peace and courage in the battles of life. He always works in His own time. When it seems like your back is up against a wall, that’s usually when He proves Himself to be strong. Think about how God leads us into impossible situations, only to reveal His power: Abraham was 100 before Isaac was finally born, Joseph was forgotten in a prison, and Daniel was thrown into a lions’ den. When you feel you’re between a rock and a hard place, remember this–He’s the Rock, and there’s no place to hard for Him.
For more, read Exodus 6:1-8; Psalm 68:20
