Have you ever stopped and wondered why God let His people be
captured by the Egyptians? Sure, there’s sin in the world and we know there is
corruption because of that. But God is all powerful, He could have rescued them
far earlier than He did, or even prevented the entire ordeal from happening.
I can spot a few reasons why He allowed it, and it comforts
me.
1. God wanted to refine and grow them.
Throughout scripture we see the example of God purifying His
people through heat and uncomfortable situations. This is not because He is
evil. There are many examples of God letting His people, people who have a high
calling, go through difficult situations, and it has always resulted in their
growth. The example of Joseph during his time in prison, is one example. God
used that time to cause him to rely on Him alone and trust Him for His
promises.
“I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is my people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God,’” (Zechariah 13:9).
“For You, O God, have tested us; you have refined us as silver is refined… You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but you brought us out to rich fulfillment,” (Psalm 66:10 & 12, emphasis added).
God uses this pressure to unite them as a nation in a
foreign land.
I believe that God wants His children to be united. In fact,
Hebrews tells us we should be coming together with other believers.
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching,” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
And even Jesus prays that we will be one.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me,” (John 17:20-21).
3. He wanted to use the time to reveal Himself to them.
I have noticed that when I am in a difficult situation, and
the pressure is on, and it seems too much to bear, all I can do is pray and
listen. Often I only pray and don’t sit down long enough to hear the Lord
speak. When I am going through something difficult, I want to get into the word
and it’s during those times that He has seemed to reveal Himself to me the
most.
I’m sure there is more that God is doing in His people that
I cannot see. He is constantly working. It’s my prayer that God will be doing a
work in me and you. I hope He will take the pressure we are facing to grow us,
refine us, and unite us with other believers and with Him. I pray He will draw
us closer to Him and reveal Himself to us.
“Just as the wise sailor can use a head wind to carry him forward by tacking and taking advantage of its impelling force; so it is possible for us in our spiritual life through the victorious grace of God to turn to account the things that seem most unfriendly and unfavorable, and to be able to say continually, ‘The things that were against me have happened to the furtherance of the Gospel,’” (Life More Abundantly).
