[well God. . . this is not going well]

This morning I was reading the story of Moses and laughing. If I could paraphrase Exodus 3-5, it'd go something like this:

God: Moses, I want you to go to Egypt and bring my people Israel out of slavery.
Moses (remember he's 80 years old): Why me?
God: Because I'm sending you. I am with you.
Moses: Are you sure? These are all the reasons you shouldn't pick me - _________________. I pass.
God (firmly): Go.

Moses obeys. 
Israelites respond in faith and worship. 
Moses gets a boost of confidence and heads to Pharaoh's courts.
Pharaoh responds to Moses by making the lives of the Israelite slaves harder.

Angry Israelites to Moses: Are you trying to get us killed?!
Moses around his campfire that night: Well God. I listened and obeyed. Did I hear right? . . this is not going well.

Have you ever felt that way? You were trying to step out in faith, trust God, follow His ways. Only to fail, struggle, wonder what in the world you got yourself into? So many times we think that following God's leading means the path will be clear, instant and easy, so when it turns out to be twisted, difficult, confusing, exhausting or defeating, we feel just like Moses. This is not what I had in mind God. Am I sure I'm following You? I thought it would be easier. Did I miss something?

And judging from this story, that's exactly where God wants us. If I was Moses, I wouldn't be feeling very confident about my own abilities. But I would sure-as-heck be praying "God, please show up."

When we meet instant success or things go our way, we never pray "God please show up. Please show me what to do." We celebrate (which is good). We are eager to share with family and friends (good). But we don't turn to God in trust, faith and reliance.

Yet if God's purpose is to make us holy, not happy, then failed plans, twisted adventures, things that don't go how we envisioned, are exactly what life is supposed to be about. For that I praise God.

For the times I've tried to reach out to someone difficult in kindness but felt like it didn't make a difference, praise God.

For the times, I've prayed and prayed for a situation to get better and it gets worse, praise God.

For the times, I've followed God's leading only for things to get harder, praise God.

For the times, I've struggled and prayed, "God please show up. Please show me what to do." Praise God.

Moses had no idea what was in store for him or Israel, and I am so grateful the story does not end that night. He doesn't walk away in defeat. He goes back to God in honesty. God re-fills him with His promises and the reminder of His abilities, and though it didn't necessarily get easier, God did come true on His every word. He brought His people out of slavery. He displayed His glory to the nations. And Moses got written into God's eternal story.

Are your "plans" not quite going as you envisioned? Are you not where you thought you'd be, or stuck comparing your situation to the next person over? Are you wondering what in the world you got yourself into, doubting what you once felt so sure of? Praise God.

Go back to His Word and read with a sense of humor the many characters whose plans did not happen according to their timing, their vision or their understanding. Whose lives often got harder when they stepped out in faith. It's those stories that make the Bible what it is. It's those stories that exalt the gospel and worthiness of Jesus. And then trust that the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses, the God of eternity, is at work in your own.

Perhaps His exact purpose was for the "plan" to not go as planned.