Exodus 5

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival to Me in the wilderness.’ ” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭4‬, ‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Moses and Aaron obeyed God and took His message to Pharoah.  Unfortunately, Pharoah would not free the Israelites, and instead made them work even harder than they had before.  Even if you follow God’s plan, often there will be a season of difficulty and suffering that you must endure.  This does not mean that God has abandoned you.  These times happen to everyone, and can simply be a result of living in an evil world.  Why does God allow us to suffer?  Doesn’t He have the power to prevent suffering in our lives?  Yes, He has the power to save us from an eternity of suffering.  We need to see the big picture as He sees it.  In Him, we have hope that one day, we will live with Him where there is “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying,” and “there shall be no more pain” (Revelation 21:4).  This world today, however, is broken because of sin.  God didn’t cause the sin, we did.  But because of His amazing love for us, God overcame that sin so that we might have hope.  When those difficult times seem unbearable, remember that God is at work.  Let Him strengthen you.  You will almost always come out of a difficult situation stronger, more mature, and with more faith.  Let Him be your hope.  A better day is coming. 

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17)