Walk in Wisdom

The Fuss—no Feast—of Faith

Exodus 9:2-3a & 5

“‘“For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field. …”’” And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

I don’t know where my three-year-old daughter gets her stubbornness from, whether from my fiery Irish genes or my wife’s Italian genes, but while I love her to death, her obstinacy creates tension over the smallest things. For instance, she can beg me from 11:00-12:00 to make her favorite mac & cheese, then, after I spend 15-20 minutes making it for her, she’ll take a few bites, put down her spoon, and exclaims, “I don’t want it!” So I explain to her that this is lunchtime, that this is what she begged me for, and that she’d better eat it, which is when she purses her lips and begins to sob—as if I’m the bad-guy! Eventually, I let her get up from the table to play with her toys, but warn her that I’ll soon put her food away and that she won’t get anything else till dinnertime. I repeat that final warning over the course of two hours, about five or six times, till the clock strikes two and I finally put the food away. And wouldn’t you know it—as soon I close the fridge, there’s Skye in the kitchen, saying she’s hungry, proceeding to make a meal of the fact that her food’s now gone.

Throughout this series of ten plagues, God remains extravagantly patient with Pharaoh. He even gives Pharaoh twenty-four hours after the final warning to change course! But like a selfish toddler, Pharaoh purses his lips, turns up his nose, and disregards the warning, giving zero thought to the ramifications his choice will have on everyone else around him. And you know what, friend? God has given us another twenty-four hours to consider our path as well. He’s given us a new day to heed His voice, a fresh call to join Him at the table of blessing He’s so graciously set before us.

So let’s join Him there without all the fuss, shall we?