When the Tough Get Going....

UV 1046/10,000 When the Going Gets Tough
And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

Exodus 3 v 7

The Lord knows our sorrows, our nagging worries and haunting anxieties. He hears our cries, our moans, our groans and even our sighs. He sees our afflictions. He knows the longing of our hearts to be set free. He who is the author of life and of the universe and all in it knows the cause, the effect and the solution for each of our sorrows, worries and problems. The question may be asked- why does He allow His beloved to be troubled in the first place? It is the only way His Lordship, His love and power of deliverance is proved and established. It is the only way to cure our fickle hearts and minds of our doubts and infidelity. Imagine – the Israelites even after so great a deliverance through amazing miracles returned to worshipping a golden calf they made for themselves in the desert. They even cribbed and criticized Moses. They even were moved to rebellion against his leadership. Even their leaders like Aaron and Miriam fell to this error. The Lord knows that only through a whole lifetime of troubles, deliverance and lessons of life, any of us will be drawn into a more and more intimate bonding with Him.

God saw the sorrows of the Israelites who were in bondage in Egypt and He empathized with their afflictions. He remembered His covenant with their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His heart was moved and so He sent a reluctant savior and leader Moses to break the chains of Pharaoh and set them free. Pharaoh and his slave managers were tough taskmasters and oppressed the Jews in order to extract their labour and build the massive cities, temples and pyramids of the Egyptian empire. God saw the sorrows of all mankind in bondage to satan and sent a willing Savior and Messiah Jesus to break all our chains and bondage in this age and time. He remembers the covenant He has made with each of us. In the case of Moses, God used a series of plagues as many as ten of them, which increased in severity and intensity , to redeem the Israelites. In the case of Jesus, God uses a flood of blessings in as many as ten areas of our lives-physical, spiritual, financial, familial, filial, emotional, ministry, relationships, testimony and legacy- to redeem us.

Someone had modified the saying, “ When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” to “when the going gets tough, the tough get creative.” In the case of believers, when the going gets tough, the tough get in touch with the Creator-Redeemer.” Belief brings relief. Sometimes, we might have an unreasonable boss who takes pride in being a tough taskmaster. When we pray, the Lord will bring amazing change of attitude or of circumstance. Jesus having suffered in flesh and blood every type of trouble, trial and sorrow a man can possibly undergo, identifies with us in our sorrows. He is even today our High Priest on high in heaven who mediates on our behalf and sends us comfort and counsel through the Holy Spirit, encouragement from His Word, help and protection through the angels of the Lord and through people, resources and circumstances that He sends our way in the hour of our need.

Prateep V Philip