Exodus Chapter 8

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.

There are three plagues in this chapter: frogs, lice or gnats (depends on which bible translation you use) and flies. During each plague, the Egyptians suffer dreadfully, and Pharaoh pleads with Moses to ask the Lord to remove the plague. But afterwards, Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let the Israelites go, even when his own magicians fail to reproduce the same effect as the plague and tell Pharaoh that it is the hand of God. Moses here demonstrates such great faith, such trust in God, and it is evident to all watching (except Pharaoh, obviously) that the hand of God is at work. God may well be moving in the miraculous in our lives, but He may also be moving in the small things, the ones that are not so obvious.

Isn't Pharaoh like us today? Bad things happen, we are overwhelmed by cares and worries, and we cry out to God, but as soon as our burdens are lifted, we go back to our old ways, ignoring God, relying on our own abilities until the next time when we have need of God. It is doing exactly what Pharaoh tries to do here- compromise with God. Pharaoh wants the Israelites to go worship in Egypt, not three days away in the desert, but God wanted Pharaoh to let his people go. This meant sending them into the desert, away from the control of Pharaoh with the risk they would not return. In the same way, God can ask things of us that mean we have to give up something (sex, drugs, alcohol, gossiping, lying, cheating, watching porn and so on), or do something we haven't done before (getting up and speaking before people, helping out, giving our time, money, etc.). If we don't want to do this, often we try and compromise, agree only to watch tv for an hour, instead of three, play pc games instead of console games, have one glass of wine instead of a bottle.

But God calls for obedience, complete obedience, not just the parts we agree on. God can see the whole master plan and He knows what is in store for us, the choices we will make, the decisions we will face. He knows each one of us inside out, and He does not ask for half hearted obedience, like when I ask the children to help washing the dishes and they dry two pans and then disappear upstairs to their bedrooms because I am slow getting the clean dishes onto the draining board. God wants all of us, not just our Sunday mornings in church, but the mornings, afternoons and evenings, each day of the week, and He wants our hearts turned to Him, focusing on Him, seeking His kingdom not ours, and living for His glory.

Maybe if we did that, if I did that, we would see the finger of God moving in our lives, instead of lurching from one crisis to the next.