Friday, February 1, 2013

Making Bricks Without Straw






Exodus 5:4 But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" 5 Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."

6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 "You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."

For most of us there are times in life when you come to the conclusion that you don't have the inner resources to complete or even cope with the task or tasks put before you. You come to a dead end. This is a place where your efforts seem fruitless and in vain. You shape, mold, sweat and toil and it's to no avail. None the less you have to keep on going. Quitting isn't an option. You are committed and invested. You intend to keep your word and press through. And...you do. Every day. The alarm goes off and it begins again. There is no turning back. It can be frustrating, extremely discouraging, you can feel trapped and tapped of all your energy. You try all the formulas to the equation and it dawns on you that you are missing a key component and you are not the one that can produce it. Pharaoh has played a cruel joke and commanded you to proceed without what you need. You find that you in and of yourself are helpless to remedy the situation. The sun beats down on your head. Your neck and back are tight and fatigued from the strain. You look around and all you see is "Egyptians" that just don't get it! Pharaoh mocks you and laughs at your pain. The days are long and the nights even longer. It can feel like a very lonely place.

You might be facing what seems impossible. There seems to be no remedy or solution for what you are walking through. Well meaning friends try to help you but they don't have any straw either and they don't know where you can get any. You just don't have the materials to "build your bricks." You might be asking, "what I am I going to do?" You might be asking, "why,  Father have you allowed this trouble to come?" Moses asked the same question (which makes me feel a little better, LOL).

Exodus 5:22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."

And He did it! He will do it for us too! If patterns repeat, and they do, it might be a while before we reach the promise land. Maybe not 40 years, but none the less we are going to have to brave the plagues and some serious lessons in the wilderness. That being said, the good news is, minus a few plagues, we are almost out of Egypt! In the wilderness He will give us what we need (not always what we want). He will teach us, grow us and deliver us.

Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.

Sometimes my emotions get the best of me. My circumstances can feel like they just might swallow me whole, a lot like that Reed Sea. It is amazing how simple things can become in the center of it all when you finally get worn out from building bricks.

I don't have all the answers and it seems like I have less and less the more I learn, but I will share with you what little I do know: (Although, honestly, I don't always act like I know.)

Do not fear.

He is who He says He is. He does what He says He will. He changes not.

He doesn't promise that life will be perfect. It wasn't for Him when He was here. He doesn't promise there won't be loss, pain, suffering or very difficult situations. He doesn't promise others will do what they are supposed to. He doesn't promise that our situations will turn out how we'd like them to. He said we'd have trials and tribulations. That is a promise that we don't always want to remember.

He doesn't promise we won't have regrets or make mistakes. He promises to forgive us when we do when we confess and repent.

He will abide in you when you abide in Him, that's a promise. He does promise to walk with you through it all as He will never leave you or forsake you.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.

So I have to get back to my brick building. I know that without straw there will be no bricks. It's not looking like I am going to get any straw. It's OK.  It's just what I have to do until I leave Egypt. One day the bricks will just be a distant memory, if I remember them at all.
He is about the eternal, not the temporal, the heavenly, not the earthly, the spiritual, not the physical (thank you Andrea).

There are so many promises in that.


Chazak, chazak v’nitchazek! Be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened.

Many blessings to you in Messiah,

More than a Conqueror