The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that He had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.     Exodus 4:31 HCSB

We have been studying Moses in Sunday School. Yesterday we studied this Scripture which tells us that Moses went to the elders of the Israelites to let them know God had heard their cries. Their people had been oppressed by the Egyptians for 400 years. They had been in slavery there. Moses told them God had heard their prayers and had sent him and his brother Aaron to go, along with the elders, to Pharaoh to ask him to let their people go.

Our Scripture passage is the response of the Israelite elders. They believed, they bowed, and they worshiped. They didn’t wait to see if God was going to come through. They trusted God to do as He promised. They believed in Him. They knew He had heard their cries and sent these two men to lead them out of Egypt. The fact that they bowed down then and there, and worshiped God tells us they had great faith in Him.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us it is impossible to please God without faith. I think this is where we often make our mistake. We pray to God, and we hope He will come through for us. But we don’t completely believe. We just aren’t sure. Even when we get a sign that He is working on it we wonder if He will come through. Often times we wonder because the devil is putting lies in our ears. He is telling us how we don’t deserve God’s goodness. He is telling us God might not help us this time. He fills our head with lies hoping to fill our hearts with doubt.

It’s important to understand that these elders bowed down and worshiped before they even spoke to Pharaoh. This was while they were still captive slaves to the Egyptians. Their deliverance would not be immediate. God had warned Moses that Pharaoh would refuse to let them go and that God would have to work some miracles to convince Pharaoh to release the Egyptians.

We are told in be thankful in all circumstances in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. You won’t find any Scripture that tells you to only be thankful when things are going your way. In fact, we are told in James 1:2 that we should consider it pure joy when we experience trials of various kinds because we know that it brings endurance and maturity. It takes a lot of Christian maturity to do this, but we must come to the realization that God is in control. We must trust that He has good plans for us even if we must climb some mountains to get to the valley. We must trust in Him and be obedient.

If you are going through hard times, know God’s got you. He may bring you through some rough spots, but don’t be afraid. He will walk with you and hold your hand every step of the way (Isaiah 41:10).  Just keep your eyes focused on Him. Be thankful to Him in all circumstances and trust in Him in all you do. Bow down and worship Him knowing that He will come through for you in His timing and His timing is always the perfect timing.

Have a great day!