Drowned or Getting Past in Disappointment?

Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 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

A wife woke up one morning and said, “Honey, I just had a dream that you bought me a new gold necklace. What do you think it means?”

“I don’t know, but Valentine’s Day is coming soon. Tuesday, you’ll know,” He replied.

A few nights later, she again woke up after having a dream, “This time, I dreamed you gave me a pearl necklace. What do you think it means?”

“You’ll know Tuesday,” He replied.

The night before Valentine’s Day, she again woke up telling him about her dream, “This time I dreamed that you brought me a diamond necklace. What do you think it means?”

“Honey, be patient. "You’ll know tonight." he said.

That evening, the husband came home with a package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it--to find a book entitled, "The meaning of dreams."

Moses’ life is not going the way he thought it would! He has just experienced a major disappointment. And in these two verses we get an intimate glimpse into how he is responding to that disappointment. He asked God this question, “Why is it You have sent me?” Moses thought that God was with him. He thought God had sent him to deliver these people from bondage. And Moses was right in thinking like that. But none of that is happening. Instead Moses feels the his arrival there has actually made matters worse. Moses is telling God that things aren't working out the way God had told.

We know how God called Moses and assured Moses of Gods presence in the leadership he was asked to give. But Pharaoh’s response was not what Moses and the elders thought it would be. Instead of letting them go, he told them to get back to work. Worse than that, Pharaoh became even more oppressive; he started requiring them to gather their own straw in addition to making bricks. They thought life was going to get easier; instead, it got harder. The elders of Israel were very upset with Moses.

I find two questions and two concerns in these verses. The first question that Moses asks is, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people?” Moses is saying that these things doesn’t make any sense. God has heard their cry. God has promised to make life better for them. But what Moses could see is that life just got harder instead of better for them.

Now what we need to understand is that Moses cannot see the end from the beginning the way God can. We have read the Bible and we know that when all is said and done, God did exactly what He told Moses He would do. The same will always be true in our lives as well. He is faithful to His word.

The second question that Moses asks is, “Why is it You have sent me?” Moses says that For whatever reason God thought, this is not working. In fact the results have been disappointing. The results are so disappointing Moses wonders why God sent him on what seems to be a fruitless task.

The concern that Moses had can be seen in v. 23 wherein he says, “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people…” The statement is full of concern about God’s people. Moses is focused on their need and their pain. Of course, we see that same quality over and over in Moses’ leadership.

Even in Exodus 32 when God spoke of destroying the whole nation, Moses put himself totally on the line for them in intercession and told God to blot out his name along with them if He would not forgive them (32:32). So here is truly a man after God’s own heart, more concerned for the people than himself.

Moses shares one more concern, when he asks God, “neither have You delivered Your people at all.” We need to be aware of the fact that God does not always give the results on the schedule or in the way we expect Him to do it. Moses I feel is alright about not getting everything that day itself, but, the problem is he is not seeing any progress or deliverance going on “at all.”

When we go through a disappointment we are particularly vulnerable to making a bad decision. One thing is of paramount importance. We must not draw back from the Lord as a response to our disappointment.

Disappointment was probably a big factor in Judas’ decisions. Cain was disappointed at God’s response to his offering. Instead of receiving correction from the Lord, he developed a root of bitterness that led to murdering his brother. Israel in the wilderness was disappointed in their journey. They responded by murmuring and complaining.

Dear Friends There may be some things He knows that you don’t know. The goal that you’re focused on may be less important than something greater that He is doing. God is the ultimate multi-tasker. He is working many things with many people. If we are His and love Him, we can know this: He is working all things together for our good.

This Lenten Season let us work through disappointments in a healthy way that we receive the healing and instruction we need from the Lord.

God Bless you