Waiting for tomorrow

Exodus 8:10 ESV

And he said, "Tomorrow."

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How many times have you said to yourself, I'll deal with this tomorrow. Things will definitely be better tomorrow. That's where I found Pharaoh in today's SRT reading. Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh in another attempt to let the people of Israel go. And then the frogs came.

In verse 8, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. Moses replied, Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile. And he said, Tomorrow.

I realize that sometimes we encounter these "plagues" that allow us to see just how powerful God really is but , I was so consumed with Pharaoh waiting until tomorrow to get rid of the frogs instead of screaming, TAKE THEM AWAY NOW! Maybe he was buying time. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to let them go. I still just couldn't figure out why he would put it off until tomorrow. Then reality pushed it's ugly way into my line of sight. I do the same thing that Pharaoh did. 

I struggle with situations, my "frogs", that plague me. Instead of handing my problems over to Jesus, I take control and just brush them off until tomorrow, hoping for a better day. Yet, my problems may sometimes last for days, weeks, months. They steal my joy. They take over. They plague me. I get lukewarm in the place I'm at instead of getting the victory that He has for me if I would just follow His footsteps.

Don't fall into the same trap that Pharaoh found himself in. Tomorrow is never promised. Why would we want to live being robbed of peace and happiness, living with a bunch of frogs, anyway? I pray that my focus is on the day before me, the day that He has graced me with.

What are your feelings about these verses? Do you find them as consuming as I did?

Deafening Silence

The past month I've been at a loss for words and for no reason at all. I'd sit at my computer, thinking that I had something to share, trying to type it out in a post, but I would end up with my finger on the backspace key more than I intended. I've never been one to write just to write. I always want my posts to be intentional, a post led by the Lord and not my own hands. There are even days I simply feel inadequate to write and that's where I've been stuck for the past couple weeks. I was bound by this overbearing silence that I just couldn't shake off.

Then I thought, what's wrong with a little silence? Yes, when we're in that moment, it's terribly frightening. That silence is where we are brought to a place beyond our control, a place of humbleness, a place of teaching, a place of waiting. There is such a negativity placed on having to wait in silence, especially having the patience to wait it out. But, what if the direction we've been seeking is brought to us through our own silence, getting our self out of the way? What if the silence is actually a call to being allowed to listen?

Allowed. Allowed to listen to His voice, to dwell on His words, to experience the next step He has waiting for me. If that's the reward for the silence I seem "stuck" in, it doesn't seem so frightening. I have to shift my thinking from a "me and what I want" perspective to an eternal perspective. A perspective set on Him, not on temporary things. Silence involves me getting rid of me and allowing Jesus to take the lead.

We don't always have to be heard. Give Him the opportunity to humble you. Don't see the silence as something discouraging; see it as an open door for change, a new transition, a new level that He will bring you through. He'll never leave you empty-handed.