So come, let us worship: bow before him,
on your knees before God, who made us!
Oh yes, he’s our God,
and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.
Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks.
Psalm 95:6-7 (MSG)
Recently, I've been pondering something. In the story of the Exodus in the Bible, it says over and over again that Pharaoh dug in. He stubbornly refused to listen to God's direction. See Pharaoh was taught and believed that he himself was a God. So to give in and submit would mean that he was a lesser God than Moses' God. He couldn't do that. So he dug in and eventually lost that battle.
Lots of thoughts crowd my mind as I wonder about this. Things like "It sure took him long enough." and "How much do you have to walk through before you figure out you aren't the one in control?" And then, I get to "Do I do this?" Do I think that what I want is a better plan than what God wants for me? Who exactly is God in my life?
God never walked away from this confrontation with Pharaoh. He never said "Let's just let him die in one of the plagues and move on." He never pulled rank and flicked him off the face of the earth. But he didn't give up either. He kept being God and working toward his end goal which was to free Israel.
Maybe he does the same with us? When we are being stubborn and digging into what we want in life and trying to make our plan work, is it possible that we are fighting against a God who knows there is something better? Could that be why it seems so hard sometimes? And the ultimate question that we have to ask ourselves is this. Am I OK relinquishing being in control to God and submitting to what he knows is best? Do I love God enough to trust him with everything? Can I get myself out of the way?