As a self-proclaimed leader of God’s people, Moses was very frustrated. Having been raised in the palace of Pharaoh, he saw from a protected distance the oppression of his Israelite brethren. When he was 40 years old, he murdered an Egyptian taskmaster beating an Israelite and the next day tried to negotiate a peace between quarreling Israelites. Moses supposed that his brethren would understand that he would deliver Israel from their oppression but they did not (Acts 7:25). Instead, he fled from Egypt alone fearing for his life. It seemed that Moses would live as an exile in Midian and forgotten to history. But God had other plans. Forty years later, God called Moses at Mt. Sinai to deliver Israel from slavery.
Moses resisted the call of God initially. Perhaps the sting of the rejection of Moses by the Israelite slaves 40 years before haunted him. He doubted himself and whether the Jews would believe him. Yet God commanded Moses to go and promised that he would be successful in leading the people from slavery into the Promised Land. Moses failed the first time because he tried to deliver the people through his power and at a time of his choosing. He succeeded the second time because he delivered God’s people on God’s schedule using God’s power.
Of course Moses didn’t have the benefit of God’s plan and schedule, but he didn’t need it. We don’t need to know His plans either. We must trust that He will accomplish His plan and the best for us if we trust and obey Him. This doesn’t mean He will give us everything we want or even make events in life turn out like we want, but He will make all things work out for the best.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
The difficult part is trusting in God when we don’t see how God can bring good out of our current circumstances. I had this confusion in many things when I was younger but as I have reflected on my life, I see how things worked out for the best even of what were very trying times. There were destructive tendencies in my personality and attitude that have been corrected through trials and what, I perceived to be setbacks at the time. There were life situations that seemed like dead ends that actually became important in helping me receive good things later.
Sadly, some people become impatient with God, follow worldly passions and materialism, and do not submit to Him. They sacrifice long-term growth and treasures for temporary pleasures and trinkets. To have “all things work together for good” you have to love God and trust Him. Sometimes the full blessings one can have in life are limited because of the consequences of foolish living. God can still create a good life out of a damaged past and heal the damage of sin but it may take longer and some scars may be difficult to heal. If we live by God’s will, His plan revealed in the New Testament, we will have the best possible life on earth though it may take time to realize that God did accomplish good in His time.
Godly Youth 