Keep Waiting... God Has Not Forgotten

The more I read the book of Exodus, the more I love it. The more I relate to Moses. It's a behind the scenes look at how God works at times. Because the Bible is full of great stories where God shows up and bam, things get done! But the freedom of the Israelites and their coming into the Promised Land, takes a long time.

In Exodus 5, Moses visits Pharaoh and demands that the people be let go. And Pharaoh says no. Not only does he say no, but he makes life even harder for the Israelites and they are not happy about it. And Moses doesn't get it. God said he'd free the people and he hasn't yet... What gives?

Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!” (Exodus 5:22-23)

But God reassures Moses that all is ok. 

And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’ - but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.  And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.  You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them. (Exodus 6:2-4)

God goes on to reassure Moses that the people of Israel will be set free from captivity. He doesn't set a time table for when this will happen, just that Moses and Israel can rest easy knowing that God's got this. 

But I love the phrase "And I am well aware of my covenant with them" from verse 4. God hasn't forgotten his promise, because he never does. Abraham didn't get to see God's promise fulfilled. Isaac didn't get to see God's promised fulfilled. Jacob didn't get to see God's promised fulfilled. And Moses didn't know it, but he also wasn't going to get to see God's promised fulfilled. But God was still aware of his promise. 

God doesn't promise that we won't have hardship and God doesn't work with our time line in mind. But he is well aware of his promise. 

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6)