People don’t like to hear that living by faith guarantees hardship, but it’s true. When we choose to obey God, we will at times suffer and have to make painful sacrifices—like Moses in today’s reading.
Growing up in Pharaoh’s palace, Moses must have known that carrying out God’s command to free His people was humanly impossible—the prideful Egyptian ruler relied on Hebrew slave labor to build his storage cities (Ex. 1:11). Nevertheless, Moses did what the Lord said to do. And the slaves’ release was just the beginning. Moses then spent 40 years leading this errant people, interceding for them when they disobeyed God, and calling upon the Lord when they faced trouble.
Moses’ life may have been marked by challenge and sacrifice, but more importantly, it was shaped by an intimate relationship with God. When a new obstacle would arise, Moses turned first to God for guidance and provision. His hardships challenged his trust in himself and strengthened his faith in the Lord.
This is also true for believers today, and Scripture teaches that our trials also produce deeper intimacy with the Lord (1 Peter 4:1-2). When we accept that hardship is a part of the Christian life, we can lean on God and grow closer to Him.
