Blessing and Hardships: The Cyclical Promise

"Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country." So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. Exodus 1:10-12

Observation: As Moses tells of the descent of the Jews into slavery, It is not a story of purely bitter oppression. The Jews also thrive. After being harbored in the land of Goshen ... their elders die ... but they grow and increase ... then a new Pharaoh forces them into labor ... but they multiply and spread with even more children. Over and over, the Jews are blessed, then have hardships, then are blessed during and in spite of those hardships. Even as Pharaoh looks to kill their sons, they grow.

Application: There are so many questions in today's world about the goodness of God within the evils of the world. It is critical to understand that there is no relationship between faith and a lack of hardships. In fact, there IS a relationship between the faith, hardships, and blessing. When we have faith despite hardships, we receive blessings.

I know hardships are ahead for me and my family. There are deaths looming on the horizon for our parents. There are troubles for our children as they enter a harsh world. There are likely to be career challenges during the twilight of our professional lives, and concerns about how we sustain our lives without income. Our faith will not "save" us from these things, and God in no way has ever promised that it would ... just the opposite

We will remain faithful throughout, however. I trust in the final outcomes God has promised - eternal life, life in the full, with the wonder of God sustaining us in all things. I fear imaginary issues of the present much more than I fear the guaranteed challenges of the future. I do not expect to be spared, yet I have full confidence that I will be loved and supported.

Prayer: Lord, I seek your promises this year, and this is the first, that you will sustain us through future hardships. I know they are coming. I accept your promise of love, support, and future blessing as I retain and lean into my faith in Jesus. Thank you so much for your love. Amen.