Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

The sharp bite of betrayal shot through Moses’ soul as he watched the men of Israel walk away. Their words of rebuke echoed like the reverberations of a gong inside his head. Perhaps it had been a mistake to await immediate results of the meeting with Pharaoh. It had gone abysmally wrong. The increased work requirements would not be lifted. The foremen would continue to be beaten. The situation was destined to further deteriorate. Facts for which the children of Israel now blamed Moses and Aaron. 

It was not what Moses’ hoped to hear. After being sent by God to lead the people out of Egypt, Moses had other ideas for the outcome of this meeting. Joyous relief at Pharaoh’s capitulation, for starters. He thought surely there would be dancing in jubilation as they were given permission to gather their things and travel into the wilderness. He had expected immediate deliverance, not increased detriment. He was preparing to safely lead the people out. Not once had he suspected things might go awry. 

 From the moment he stood beside the blazing inferno of never consumed bush and listened to God call him to aid in the rescue of His people, Moses believed liberation would happen. He believed God was going to release His people from slavery. He might not understand how, but he knew it would happen! God was going to bring them out of bondage and lead them into a land of their own. A fertile land. A blessed land. A land of plenty. Moses never doubted the ability of God to do such. Until now.

Standing outside that meeting place, watching the retreating backs of the foremen and feeling the sting of their angry words, Moses’ heart quaked with questions. What had gone wrong? Why was God allowing additional harm to befall an already beleaguered people? Did the fault truly lie with Moses as the Israelite men suggested? Was it his slow speech? Had his inarticulate verbiage somehow created an unbreachable chasm forever increasing hardship for his people? Or had God brought them this far only to renege on His promise?

It was a sickening thought. But the evidence appeared to be right in front of him. Having heard their cries of suffering and wailing pleas for deliverance, God had looked down and seen their bondage, recognized their untenable situation, and decided to do something. He had promised to deliver them. He’d collected Moses and given strict instruction. He’d made an allowance for Aaron, the more eloquent speaker, to accompany Moses. He’d put His words in their mouths and given them an audience with Pharaoh. It all seemed so positive, looked so much like deliverance. Until it started to look like God wasn’t going to finish what He started. 

The current situation resembled deliverance not at all. Words meant to induce kindness and leniency had instead evoked anger and affliction. The bondage increased. The workload soared. The punishments became more menacing. Although Moses had come to them in fearless faith and boldly spoken God’s words of deliverance over them, their deteriorating circumstances seemed to indicate otherwise. As their cries went unanswered, their tears unseen, the people turned their anger and frustration on the messenger. And the messenger, disappointed that it hadn’t happened the way he thought it would and doubting it would ever happen because he couldn’t see the way forward, hurled his anxious accusations at the God he feared had failed for the first time in history.  

Rushing to his place of meeting with God, Moses impetuously cried out, “What are You doing? Why are you allowing the increased harm of Your people? Why did You even send me if you weren’t going to do anything? I did what You told me to do. I gave Your promise to Your people. I spoke Your words to Pharaoh. He did not capitulate. Quite the opposite. The affliction of Your people has intensified. Things are getting worse, not better. From where I’m sitting, it seems You have not delivered on Your promise to deliver Your people!” (Exodus 3-5)

In spite of the fact I have read the story scores of times, I still suck in my breath as I read Moses’ words to the Almighty. That he has the nerve to talk to God that way has me raising a brow in self-righteous judgment. Who, exactly, does he think he is? And just whom does he believe he is addressing in such disrespect? Does he not realize the same God who set that bush to flame from nothing could simply speak and he would cease to exist?

As I begin to unload my full head of steam on unsuspecting Moses, I am reminded of some things I’ve said to God in frustration and fear. I start to rethink accusations I’ve hurled at the heavens when things haven’t gone according to my plan or matched my timing. I remember all the times I’ve thought God failed to keep His promises because I didn’t get what I wanted. The memories shut my mouth and I shamefacedly take a seat beside Moses. We both have lessons to learn. 

Lessons about who God is. Creator. Sustainer. Everlasting God. All-powerful. All-knowing. Limitless. Lessons about how God works. His perfect timing. His perfect plan. His perfect way. None of these are new revelations. We’ve known them for a long time. They are really reminders. Reminding us that we can trust Him to keep His word. Even when we can’t see what He is doing, when we can’t explain it, when we can’t call out the steps. Reminding us that His ways are not like ours, His timing is not kept by our clock, His results are always greater than the ones our finite minds conceive. I frequently need these reminders. Clearly, Moses needed them, too. God was happy to oblige. (Isaiah 40:21-31; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Isaiah 55:8-9; Deuteronomy 32:4)

Reiterating words He’d already used, reminding Moses of things he already knew, God set the record straight. “I am the Lord. The God of your fathers to whom I promised a blessed land. No matter what you think is going on or how badly you think I have botched this, I have not forgotten that promise. I have not left my people unattended. I have heard their cries. I have seen their bondage. I have remembered my covenant. And, Moses, know this and let the people know it too, in my time, in my way, I am going to bring them out of Egypt, delivered and redeemed, to be my people and I will be their God.” (Exodus 6-14)

If you have ever attended a Sunday School class, a vacation Bible school program, or simply read the book of Exodus, you know God did exactly that. With His mighty arm and outstretched hand, He miraculously rescued His people from bondage and affliction. He kept His promise and then some. Why? Because that is what God does. 

God works miraculously on behalf of His people. While we are busy screaming at the heavens, raging on about His shortcomings, God is busy, too. Erecting a way where there isn’t one. Executing a rescue when it seems impossible. Enacting the miraculous when hope has been extinguished. Encouraging a fledgling soul. Enlightening a clouded mind. Enriching the heart of a seeker. God is always working whether you see it or not. He is always busy whether to your standards or not. God is always delivering and redeeming His people because He is our God and that is what He does! 

He is the God who has never left His people unattended, never left His promises unfulfilled, never turned a blind eye to our suffering or a deaf ear to our cries. He is always listening. He is touched by our infirmities, moved by our tears. His heart is broken by our sin and elated by our salvation. He is always working on our behalf. When we can’t feel it or see it, He’s working. When we can’t trace His movements or see around the curve ahead, He’s working. When we can do nothing but pray and hope and struggle to keep our meager faith alive, God is still working. Still planning our deliverance. Still enacting our rescue. Still providing for our redemption. That’s what our God does! (Hebrews 4:15; Psalm 145:13; Psalm 66:19; Isaiah 43:19; II Corinthians 4:18)

I don’t know where you are right now. I don’t know what holds you in bondage. I don’t know what torments your mind and soul in the dark hours of the night. I do know this. God is working on your behalf. All those prayers you’ve prayed have not bounced off brass heavens unanswered. God is not immune to your desperation, your situation, your petition. Just as He heard the cries of the bruised and beaten people of Israel enslaved in Egypt, He hears the cries of your distressed soul. He sees your burdens and afflictions and cares. He knows how precariously your faith falters on the cusp of fear. And right now–this very moment–He is working out His plan for your rescue. (I Peter 3:12; I John 5:14-15; Hebrews 4:16; John 14:1; Exodus 14: 11-12; Psalm 42:6; John 5:17)

So don’t stop believing. Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop hoping. Keep the faith. Faith in the God who has never failed to keep His promise. Faith in the power of God that is greater than any other force of this world or another. Faith in the God who sees you where you are, hears you when you call, is moved by your circumstances, and is working–even when you can’t see it. (Psalm 130:5-7; Romans 5:5; I Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 11:6; John 13:7)