Acts 7:17-29

Acts 7:17-29
New International Version (NIV)

  In the thick of a mess, it's hard to see how things are changing.  When we're sick, we tend to focus intensely on how badly we feel, and we sometimes miss how we are starting to feel better.  Only later, when we're well, do we look back and notice the moment when we started to improve.  It may actually be some time between when your body starts winning the battle and you notice the difference, but that doesn't mean things aren't changing for the better.
  In the same way, God is at work here in Egypt.  Moses is being prepared for leading the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery, but he's got a long way to go before he's going to confront Pharaoh.  It's going to be years, and the Israelites in slavery may not notice the change for years to come, but God is at work, preparing the people to lead them out of slavery.
  In your own life, God is at work.  We often don't notice how God is at work, and sometimes when we are in the worst of our stress, we tend to focus so closely on our problems that we may not notice when the tide begins to turn -- it might still feel like we're drowning.  Just because we aren't noticing what God is doing doesn't mean that God isn't actively at work in hearts and minds.  Trust in God, who loves you more than you can know or imagine -- he has never and will never abandon you.