Trusting Pharaoh!

Sleep didn't come readily to me last night. My mind would not stop working; racing from subject to subject, reviewing yesterday's conversations, making plans for this week, reaching for solutions to challenges at the church, praying for needs that came to my attention, etc. After too long, I finally said, "Lord, help me to trust You. Give me the courage to keep on doing what needs to done and the faith to trust You to give me resources and wisdom that are required." That simple prayer was the last conscious thought before I heard the radio click on in the morning!

Life challenges everyone. That's the way of this world since sin destroyed the perfect equilibrium in which the Creator made it. Thanks to Adam's rebellion our efforts at life are complicated by weeds in the garden! Genesis explains the problems of life this way -- 3:17-19 (NLT) God said, “I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day." Paradise lost!

To whom will we turn for help in overcoming the challenges that sin and Satan introduce to our existence? That is the question that I answer again and again! My constant temptation, and I'm not alone in this, is to turn to self-sufficiency, to attempt to live on my own terms. No, it's not that I become a total rebel, resisting God at every turn. It is much more subtle than that. When it appears that God isn't moving quickly enough or that He isn't paying attention, I take responsibility for the work - worrying, reaching for answers, seeking resources beyond those He's provided. The people of God have always struggled with this. Remember Abraham, the father of faith? He decided that God needed help giving him the son of promise, so he had a child with his wife's servant, Hagar. If even Abe concluded 'God needs help,' I guess it's a fairly normal thing to do.

Reading the history of Israel and Judah, we find that time and again, they made alliances with pagan kings rather than trusting God to defend them. Isaiah, who saw the king's response to the threat of the northern armies, wrote these words: 30:2-3 (NLT) For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt to find help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh for his protection. But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated and disgraced. Trusting Pharaoh! It was a natural, even reasonable thing to do. The threat of the powerful armies from the north would be offset with a treaty of mutual support from the powerful Pharaoh to the south: good reasoning, but not God's plan. And Isaiah's godly insight was true. Pharaoh didn't lift a finger to defend God's people. He took their treaty money and then abandoned them in their time of need. They were doubly deceived!

Are you trying to serve God by your own resources? It will lead only to frustration, sleepless nights, and fatigue! The Bible reminds us that... "The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name (who really understand who You are!) trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you." (Psalm 9:9-10, NLT)

What's your challenge today?

Marriage in trouble? God can change you and her, if you'll trust Him.
Financial troubles? God is your Source, the One who can provide all you need, including the wisdom to know what you need and what you want.
Tempted by sin? God is greater than the world, the sinful nature, and the demon hordes of Hell and will help you overcome.
Filled with fear? God is peace, and provides peace that 'passes human understanding' to those who fully trust in Him.Begin, don't end, with prayer.

Make faith your first resource, not your last resort!

"Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last.Keep company with God, get in on the best.
Open up before God, keep nothing back; he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon." (Psalm 37:3-6, The Message)