What’s going wrong for you today? In “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown visits Lucy the psychiatrist. She tries to diagnose his problem: “Are you afraid of responsibility? Maybe you’re afraid of cats? Or staircases? Or the ocean? Or crossing bridges? Do you have pantaphobia?” “What’s that?” he asks. “The fear of everything.” “THAT’S IT!” he cries. So what are you afraid of? What do you worry about? A car accident, a phone call that your son has died, a cancer diagnosis, a pink slip and layoff? You don’t know what tomorrow holds, and there’s a lot that can go wrong.
Moses was discouraged, afraid, aggravated, worried, and frustrated. The Israelites had been in slavery for 400 years and God was doing something about it. He told Moses to go to Pharaoh and say, “Let my people go.” He told Moses what would happen, He gave him the words to say and He arranged for his brother Aaron to help. Moses faithfully delivered the message, but Pharaoh said, “No!” And to make matters worse, Pharaoh increased the burdens and the beatings of the Israelites without mercy. The Jews complained to Moses, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us (Ex 5:21).” Then Moses turned to God: “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.” Moses was upset, aggravated, and afraid. Moses had had enough. Have you had enough? When will you wake up from the nightmare you are living in?
In Exodus 6, God reassures Moses, and He reassures you in the trouble you are facing. He told him about the past: God spoke to Moses and said, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.” God reminded Moses who He is and He had revealed His special name to him. He reminded him that he was there with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that He made covenant promises to them, and He will keep them. Then He told Moses of His present work: “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.” He tells Moses He is there with them now, hearing their groans, knowing and seeing the grief they are going through. Finally, He encourages them with His future plans, to deliver them from their troubles. “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” God had everything under control, from the past to present to future.
And that’s what God says to you in the middle of your fears, worries, anger, and hopelessness today. He was there for you in the past, He is there now and will be there for you in the future. Jesus said, “I will be with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). You are a people for His own possession (1 Peter 2:9) and you will conquer and have this heritage, and you are His child and He is your God (Revelation 21:7). He is the solid foundation and the rock on which to build your house when the rains come down and floods come up (Matthew 7:24-27). The best way to overcome your fears and doubts is to lean and depend on Him. Seek Him out, draw near, and walk with Him closer through the troubles you face. He is the Lord.