If you're Moses and Aaron, you're watching your staff turn into a serpent and feeling pretty good about things. Surely, you think, this will convince Pharaoh that God is with you and the rest will be easy.
But no, then Pharaoh's wise men figure out how to do the same thing. Which I've never fully understood -- why is it that just anybody can throw their staff down and have it turn into a serpent? Have we lost this capability? Can I try this? Am I simply doing it wrong?
Moses and Aaron are disappointed for a moment, but then their serpent eats the other serpents, and you're back on top of the world, sticking your chest out, feeling good about life... until Pharaoh still says no.
Some things are bigger than us. No matter what we do, we get swallowed up in them. I think of kids in the midst of violent conflicts and wars... they're small and innocent, with no power to influence things, and yet there they are, damaged by it all. It's so hard to trust in times like this. It's so hard to continue to believe.
And yet God can still be at work. We can still trust in God for the bigger picture. God's plans are not derailed by our setbacks.
Trust and believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment