Obedience and Opposition

Exodus 5:1–6:13

Obedience and Opposition

Matt Williams Updated Staff Photo

Matt Williams

Teaching Pastor; Staff Governing Elder; Staff Director

When Moses obeys God and confronts Pharaoh, he expects God will immediately begin to rescue Israel. Instead, things get worse, for both the Israelites and Moses. Likewise, sometimes our lives become more difficult when we follow God, but he is still faithful and active. He uses our suffering to draw us to himself.

Application

  1. How have you seen God use difficult seasons in your life to help you know him better and make you more like him?

  2. When you experience discomfort, is your response marked by confusion, panic, or blame-shifting? If so, what does that reveal about your heart posture towards God?

Key Points

  • Oftentimes, when someone begins to follow God, their life becomes more difficult and complicated, not less.

  • When our comfort decreases, we often assume that can’t be what God wants for us, but sometimes it’s exactly what he wants.

  • Leadership exposes us, reveals our motives, and helps us grow.

  • Although we are a very small part of God’s grand redemptive plan and can’t fully understand his actions and timing, we can fully trust him.

  • Experiencing difficulty outside of our control allows us to gain a true sense of our need for God.

  • In situations where we feel hopeless, we have to make a choice to have hope grounded in our faithful God.

Other Scripture References

Genesis 15

Philippians 3:8–10
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