The Lord commanded Moses to enter Pharaoh’s palace and deliver a shocking order to the world’s most powerful ruler: “Let My people go so they may serve me!,” Exodus chapters five and eight. Reluctantly, Moses obeyed God. Undoubtedly, Moses expected life to move forward. He imagined Pharaoh conceding to God’s command, releasing the Israeli slaves and sending them on their way to the Promised land. However, life went backwards.
Instead of releasing Israel, Pharaoh angrily accused the Israeli slaves of laziness. Then, he proceeded to make life much more difficult for the Jews. He directed that the slaves provide their own raw materials for brick making, but without reducing the number of bricks they produced. When the Jews failed to meet Pharaoh’s expectation, he ordered his military officers to beat the Hebrew overseers.
Moses ran to God and declared, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people,” Exodus 5:22? Moses could not handle life when it moved backwards.
Perhaps you are facing a similar situation. You were married, but now you are single once again. You lost your job and finances are a struggle. Or, perhaps the aging process is slowing you down. You feel like life is going backwards.
When life goes backwards, remember that God is with you regardless of life’s direction.
Yes, we would all like for our lives to progress in a forward direction, but real life sometimes moves backwards. Pay no attention to the direction in which your life is moving; keep your eyes on the God who is with you and for you.
Hold on to your love for God. When life went backwards, Moses’ love for God cooled. We must not let this happen to us. Always remember that what happens in you is vastly more important than what happens around you. If you stay in love with God, he will use those backward steps to achieve his image in you. Backward steps will bring his blessing upon you.
Look at what happened to Moses. He renewed his love for God. Then God exceeded Moses’ expectations. God not only brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage, but, also, loaded them down with Egyptian treasures. When these impoverished slaved moved forward, they moved forward with unimaginable wealth!
