A Method To His Beauty

Exodus 7:3 - But I will make Pharaoh's heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

If there is one thing I have learned about God, is that He always has a reason for doing what He does.  There is always a method to the madness.  But one of the beautiful things I have also learned about Him, is that nothing He does is madness.

God can do anything He wants to do, and He never needs our approval, counsel, or help.  He chooses to work in and through ordinary people like you and me, so that everyone can see what He is doing.  He does this so that when we are obedient in following where He leads us, the blessings will be all the more magnified.

Did God need Pharaoh to have a stubborn heart?  Nope.  He only had to snap his fingers, and the Israelites would have been delivered out of slavery and into the promised land.  He chose to do things the hard way, or at least what we could classify as the hard way, so that His miraculous signs that He performed through Moses and Aaron would be multiplied and magnified.  Remember, Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate most of the same miracles...up to a point.

We can be good people and do good things on our own strength, wisdom, and power...up to a point.  When we recognize that we can't be truly successful without the power of God on our side, that's when we need God to do some God-sized work in our lives.  Before I came to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I was not really a bad person.  I certainly had some low points in my life that left a lot to be desired as far as character is concerned (to say the least), but I never killed anyone.  I had some compassion for people (some...).  During a discussion I had recently with someone regarding being sold out for Christ, they said to me, "I'm a good person."  I responded, "Indeed you are, and I love you to death.  But there are going to be a lot of "good" people in hell for eternity, and I don't want you to be one of them."  Was that a bit brash?  Depending on your point of view it might be, but I was just trying to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

So why did God bother to multiply His miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt of all places?  I mean, these were mean people who had enslaved His chosen people and treated them terribly (to say the least).  Well the Apostle Peter answered that question for us.  He said the Lord is not wishing for anyone to perish but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  God allows our hearts to be hardened so that He can soften them through the power of the Holy Spirit.  God wasn't just trying to save the Israelites in Egypt.  He was trying to save the Egyptians too.  There's always a method to His beauty.

God made us the way He made us for a reason.  One thing He will never do is violate the free will He gave us.  He wants us to choose to follow, worship, and glorify Him.  He doesn't need us, He wants us.  Joshua made the choice that he would serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).  He had seen God at work all in and around him, and knew that he couldn't accomplish anything apart from God.

And that's a choice we all have to make.  If you don't believe in God, that's understandable because a lot of people who do believe in God now, didn't always believe in Him at some point in their life.  But God has always believed in us.  He is holding out hope that we would all come to repentance and accept the sacrifice He offered on our behalf - His only Son Jesus Christ.  He demonstrated His love for us in this amazing way with no guarantee of any payoff for Him, just the hope that we would recognize and accept it for what it was.  A way to bring us into an intimate close relationship with Him (that's what I call gambling).

I pray that if you haven't done so, you will choose today whom you will serve.  As for me, I'm choosing to serve the One who made the biggest sacrifice possible for me, when I was in outright rebellion to Him.  I am choosing to serve the One who made that sacrifice for ALL of mankind because He loves us all that much.  There isn't anyone on this planet - past, present, or future - that God doesn't love.  I am choosing to serve the Lord.

I will be praying for everyone that needs to make that choice today.  If you would like someone to help you through it, I will be happy to pray with you specifically.  Just give me a shout.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me when I was (and sometimes still am) unlovable.  Thank You for Your sacrifice for me, even though there was no guarantee that I would ever accept it.  I am so grateful that You have a method to Your beauty, and I am so grateful that the work of Your Holy Spirit finally softened my heart and I was able to recognize it.  I pray for those that don't know You, but need to.  My prayer is that they will finally realize that there are limits to what they can do on their own, and that their need for You overwhelms them to the point that they pray for You to enter their hearts and lives permanently.  If I can be of use in this, I pray that You will use me.  In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen!



God Bless!!!