A young female aid worker is taken hostage and, a year and a half later, confirmed to be dead.
A teenage boy from a Christian family converts to the religion of the majority and is applauded by local religious authorities.
“Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent… and the Egyptian magicians also did the same thing by their secret arts” (Ex 7:10,12).
A man who’s determined to follow Jesus despite his upbringing flees from his family and his community, knowing he will very likely be killed for his decision.
A logic-oriented, open-minded young woman wants to know the truth but is blinded by the lies that are all she’s ever known.
“Moses… raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood… and the Egyptian magicians also did the same thing by their secret arts” (7:20,22).
The caring family of a girl suffering from severe depression bring her to the local religious leader, who causes her to pass out then recites holy texts as her family witnesses involuntary convulsions, starting from her chest and moving down to her feet, until she at last lays still.
“So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts” (8:6-7).
The battles seem so close, the stories feel so personal, and the enemy seems so powerful. We believe wholeheartedly that God is good and that He is all-powerful, but it’s not always clear to us how He is working.
We have a tenacious enemy. I watch as he wraps himself tightly around spiritual captives, and his form is that of a serpent, mocking Aaron’s sign. I hear him in my friend’s dream saying, “I will never leave you, I’ll always be by your side,” and his voice is like crimson poison seeping through the recesses of minds and hearts. I see him manipulating people and twisting truth, in an attempt to make himself equal in power to the God of Creation.
Yet his power is limited. Never once did the magicians (who were puppets of our enemy) put a stop to God’s judgments. And their mockery stopped short.
“But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (8:18-19).
The enemy was shamed. Soon after, the magicians were no longer able to stand in the presence of Moses, because, along with the rest of the people suffering God’s judgment, they were covered in festering boils.
But in the meantime, while they were waiting for God’s plan to unfold, Moses and Aaron stood firm in their faith and the miracles that God was performing through their hands. They didn’t get discouraged. They didn’t get stuck on Why would God allow the magicians to do all of these “miracles” and deceive the people? Instead, they simply prayed, listened, obeyed, and proclaimed.
I never want to become distraught by what looks like the victory of the enemy. Instead, I want my response to be that of:
Prayer: Lord, I am Your servant. Use me as You please.
Listening: What would You have me do?
Obedience: Even if it seems difficult, let my obedience bring glory to You.
Proclamation: May I never be afraid of speaking Your truth.
We have the confidence that whatever things look like now, God has the last word and the ultimate victory.
As Paul says, “Let’s not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap the harvest if we do not give up. Therefore we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers”. Paul says, do not lose heart. I get from this that no matter what our eyes may see and what satan tried to do to try and throw wrenches in our mission to be obedient to God’s word, his will for our lives, don’t give up, don’t grow weary, just keep doing good, doing the work God has given us, trust in Him and His strength. Thanks for sharing these stories.