Speak through Him

Have you ever prayed something like that?

“Lord, I obeyed You.
I followed where You led me.
I did what You asked.
So why does everything seem to be getting worse?”

Moses knew that feeling.

God had told him to go to Egypt.
He was to stand before Pharaoh and declare,

“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go.’”

So Moses went.
He obeyed.

But Pharaoh did not listen.

Instead, Pharaoh made Israel's suffering worse.

The Israelites would no longer be given straw to make bricks. They had to gather the straw themselves, while still producing the same number of bricks.

The workload increased.
The pressure intensified.
The suffering became heavier.

And then they blamed Moses.

They told him,

“May the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh...” (Exodus 5:21)

Imagine that.

Moses had come because God sent him.
He had spoken because God told him to speak.

Yet the very people he wanted to help were now suffering more and they were blaming him.

Can you imagine what was happening inside Moses?

Perhaps he was asking:

“God, You sent me here.
I came.
I obeyed.
I spoke in Your name.
So why is everything getting worse?”

So Moses went back to God and asked:

“O Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why did You ever send me?” (Exodus 5:22)

Then he said,

“For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22–23)

There it is.

“I came because You sent me.
I spoke because You commanded me.
And now things are worse.”

This is one of the most honest moments in Moses' journey.

Because sometimes the hardest test of faith is not suffering itself.
It is when you did what you believed God wanted and the result looks completely opposite from what you expected.

You thought obedience would bring relief.
Instead, it brought resistance.

You thought following God would make the path clearer.
Instead, it became more confusing.

You thought you were finally moving toward the promise.
Instead, it felt like you were moving farther away from it.

And you begin to ask:

“Lord, if this is Your plan, WHY IS EVERYTHING GETTING WORSE?”

But now notice God's response.

This is where the story becomes profound.

God does not begin by explaining everything.
He doesn't give Moses a complete explanation of Pharaoh's behavior.
He doesn't give him a detailed timeline of how everything will unfold.
He doesn't answer every “why” in the way Moses probably wanted.

Instead, God begins with something greater:

“𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗.” (Exodus 6:2)

Then God repeated His promises.

“I have heard.”
“I have remembered.”
“I will bring you out.”
“I will deliver you.”
“I will redeem you.”
“I will take you to be My people.”

God did not give Moses every detail of the plan.

He gave Moses something more fundamental:
𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀.

Moses was looking at the worsening circumstances.
God was reminding him of His unchanging covenant.

And that matters.

Because when we are in the middle of a difficult season, we see the chapter we are living in. God sees the whole story.

And perhaps that is what you need to hear today.

Things getting worse does not automatically mean God has left you.

A difficult circumstance does not automatically mean you misunderstood God's leading.

A delayed answer does not mean God has forgotten His promise.

And obedience does not come with a guarantee that the road will immediately become easier.

Sometimes you can be exactly where God has called you to be and still find yourself in a very difficult place.

Moses teaches us something important:

Faith is not the absence of questions.

Moses had questions.
Moses was confused.
Moses was discouraged.

And yet he brought all of it to God.

Maybe you're standing in your own Exodus 5 today.

You obeyed.
You prayed.
You trusted.
You followed where God led.

Yet you're still asking:
“Lord, if this is Your plan, why is everything getting worse?”

You may not have the answer yet.
You may not understand why this season had to unfold this way.
You may not see how God could possibly bring good out of what you're facing.

But don't let what you cannot yet see make you forget what you already know about God.

He hears.
He remembers.
He delivers.
He redeems.
He keeps His promises.

Your circumstances may change.
His character does not.

Moses could not yet see the deliverance.
But God could.

And sometimes faith is simply saying:

“Lord, I don't understand what You are doing.
But I still know who You are.”

There is a difference between surrendering and giving up.

Surrender says,
“Lord, I cannot carry this anymore. I surrender it to You.”

Giving up says,
“There is no reason to keep going.”

Sometimes, when we are exhausted, we mistake our weariness for God's instruction to stop.

We begin to say:

Maybe this isn't where God wants me.
Maybe I should let this go.
Maybe I should stop trying.

But remember Elijah.

After witnessing God's mighty power, Elijah eventually found himself beneath a tree, exhausted and asking God to take his life.

And what did God do?

He let him sleep.
He gave him food.
He gave him rest.

God did not shame Elijah for being weary.
He restored him.

Because rest is not quitting.
𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆.

You can love God and still become tired.
You can trust Him and still have days when your heart feels heavy.
You can believe in His calling and still need to stop, breathe, and recover.

So if you are tired today, you do not have to pretend before God.

Come to Him honestly:

“Lord, I'm tired.”
“Lord, I'm afraid.”
“Lord, I don't know how much longer I can do this.”

Because sometimes faith does not look like standing triumphantly on a mountain.

Sometimes it is a weary soul whispering,
“Jesus, I cannot take another step without You.”

And that is enough for today.

You do not have to see the whole road.
You only need grace for the next step.

Rest when you need to.
Breathe.
Be still.
Bring your exhaustion to Christ.
Let Him restore what the journey has drained from you.

And when Christ gives you enough strength to begin again,
get up and keep walking.

You may need a pause.
You may need healing.
You may need to begin again.

and that's okay.

Jesus is still with you.
His grace is still sufficient.
And the road is still ahead.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁.

Not because you are strong enough,
but because Christ is strong enough to carry you.

People may love you deeply, faithfully, and beautifully.

They may stay when life is difficult.
They may choose you when you feel unworthy.
They may remind you that you matter when you have forgotten it yourself.

And yet, even the purest human love is only a faint reflection of His.

Perhaps that is why even the sweetest love this world can give sometimes leaves something in us still aching.

We were made for a love deeper than human hearts can fully give.

But then there is Jesus.

He loved you before you ever thought to love Him.

He knew every failure you would commit, every weakness you would hide, every moment you would wander—and He loved you anyway.

He stayed when you ran.
He sought you when you were lost.
He forgave the sins you could hardly forgive yourself for.

And when the cost of loving you was revealed in full,
He stepped toward the cross.

At Calvary, Jesus was not loving an ideal version of you.
𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲.

The sinful you.
The broken you.
The wandering you.
The you who sometimes loves Him poorly.

And He gave Himself anyway.

That is the mystery that humbles us:

The One who knew us most completely loved us most completely.

His love is what calls you out of your brokenness.
His grace is what teaches you to return.
His mercy is what keeps the door open when shame tells you to stay away.

There is a love you will spend your whole life trying to understand—

𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁,
𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺,
𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵.

And perhaps we were never meant to comprehend it completely.

Perhaps we were meant to behold it, receive it, and be changed by it.

Because the wonder of Christ's love is not simply that He died for sinners.
It is that He knew exactly whom He was dying for.

And He still chose to love.
He still chose the cross.

So if today you are wondering whether you are loved,

look no further than Jesus.

The cross has already answered you.

You are not forgotten.
You are not abandoned.
You are not beyond the reach of His grace.

When you feel unworthy, look to the cross.

When you wonder whether your failures have exhausted His patience,
remember: His love does not become smaller when you stumble.

You do not have to become lovable before Christ will love you.

There may be people who love you deeply.
There may be people who would give much for you.

But there is only One who loved you enough to give everything.

And this is the comfort our hearts can rest in:

You will spend your lifetime discovering the depths of His love,
but you will never find anyone who loves you more than 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.