When Trouble Troubles You

TO READ: Exodus 10:1-20

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you,” he confessed. “Forgive my sin, just this once, and plead with the LORD your God to take away this death from me.”

Exodus 10:16-17

Does something really bad have to happen to you before you let God have his way in your life? Sometimes plagues of trouble bring people to their senses, and they truly repent and come to the Lord. Others repent for a moment, but when a reprieve comes, they, like Pharaoh, put the whole thing out of their minds (Exodus 7:23).

When God sent a plague of frogs on the land of Egypt, Pharaoh began to soften, so God removed the plague. “But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn” (Exodus 8:15). When the next plague hit Pharaoh, he pled with Moses, “Now hurry and pray for me” (Exodus 8:28). But after God had removed the plague, Pharaoh again hardened his heart. Pharaoh was given many opportunities to deal with his sin, repent, and acknowledge the Lord. But he was never sorry for his sin —merely sorry for himself. He repeatedly hardened his heart, and in the end, God took over and hardened it for him. God has warned us that his Spirit will not always “put up with” people (Genesis 6:3). If we resist the promptings of God’s Spirit pointing out our sin and our dire need of a Savior, there may come a time when it will be too late. If God has allowed trouble to trouble you, it may be a stimulus to let his Spirit do his convincing, convicting, and converting work in your life.