“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.  I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.  And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

When God spoke to Moses, there was little doubt that He had a plan for the Israelites.

He used phrases like,

“I will bring….”

“I will free….”

“I will redeem….”

“I will take….”

“I will be….”

“I will bring….”

“I will give….”

He didn’t see their conditions in Egypt and say,

“I will try….”

or

“I will do my best…..”

God knew that the stage had been set to perform in a mighty way,

and He knew all along the way that the Red Sea would one day part, freeing His people to leave the land of slavery.

But there was one problem.

It’s the same problem we often face today.

What God knew and what the people knew were two very different things.

The Israelites were suffering daily.

Making bricks in the hot sun with minimal supplies was their daily task.

Words like “redeem, give, and free” were as far from their minds as a refreshing glass of cold water was from their mouths.

Resigned to a life of slavery, they had stopped dreaming of a way out of their misery.

So when Moses told them what God had said, here’s what happened in Exodus 6:

 Moses reported this to the Israelites,

but they did not listen to him because of their

discouragement and harsh labor.

The Israelites  chose to close their ears to the promises of God.

Discouragement and harsh labor blocked their ability to hear great news.

They embraced their miserable conditions over their bright future.

This choice left Moses facing Pharoah with very few people cheering him on.

I wonder how differently this story would have unfolded had the people grasped the power of God in that moment.

Empowered brick makers could have influenced the slave drivers in such positive ways that maybe even the Egyptians would have longed for and believed in the promises of God.

It’s really no different in 2015.

We know what the Bible says.

We read God’s promises every time we open His book.

We even claim things like,

“Greater is He that is in me,”

or

“We will rise on wings like eagles,”

or

“He is my rock and my fortress.”

But then life happens.

Jobs bring stress

Bills pile high

Marriages crumble

Friends betray

Suddenly all the good news of the Gospel is drowned out by the noise of today’s struggles.

Are you having a hard time hearing God?

Do you feel discouraged?

Read God’s promises to the Israelites many years ago.

“I will bring….”

“I will free….”

“I will redeem….”

“I will take….”

“I will be….”

“I will bring….”

“I will give….”

Take some time to really let His promises soak in.

Ask Him to help you clearly hear His voice above your doubts,  above your questions, above your fears.

He has a plan for you.

And it’s a good one.

Trust Him today and feel empowered………………….

even if you find yourself in a hot-sun-brick-making season of life.