17/09/2026
Have you ever prayed something like that?
“Lord, I obeyed You.
I followed where You led me.
I did what You asked.
So why does everything seem to be getting worse?”
Moses knew that feeling.
God had told him to go to Egypt.
He was to stand before Pharaoh and declare,
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go.’”
So Moses went.
He obeyed.
But Pharaoh did not listen.
Instead, Pharaoh made Israel's suffering worse.
The Israelites would no longer be given straw to make bricks. They had to gather the straw themselves, while still producing the same number of bricks.
The workload increased.
The pressure intensified.
The suffering became heavier.
And then they blamed Moses.
They told him,
“May the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh...” (Exodus 5:21)
Imagine that.
Moses had come because God sent him.
He had spoken because God told him to speak.
Yet the very people he wanted to help were now suffering more and they were blaming him.
Can you imagine what was happening inside Moses?
Perhaps he was asking:
“God, You sent me here.
I came.
I obeyed.
I spoke in Your name.
So why is everything getting worse?”
So Moses went back to God and asked:
“O Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why did You ever send me?” (Exodus 5:22)
Then he said,
“For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Exodus 5:22–23)
There it is.
“I came because You sent me.
I spoke because You commanded me.
And now things are worse.”
This is one of the most honest moments in Moses' journey.
Because sometimes the hardest test of faith is not suffering itself.
It is when you did what you believed God wanted and the result looks completely opposite from what you expected.
You thought obedience would bring relief.
Instead, it brought resistance.
You thought following God would make the path clearer.
Instead, it became more confusing.
You thought you were finally moving toward the promise.
Instead, it felt like you were moving farther away from it.
And you begin to ask:
“Lord, if this is Your plan, WHY IS EVERYTHING GETTING WORSE?”
But now notice God's response.
This is where the story becomes profound.
God does not begin by explaining everything.
He doesn't give Moses a complete explanation of Pharaoh's behavior.
He doesn't give him a detailed timeline of how everything will unfold.
He doesn't answer every “why” in the way Moses probably wanted.
Instead, God begins with something greater:
“𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗.” (Exodus 6:2)
Then God repeated His promises.
“I have heard.”
“I have remembered.”
“I will bring you out.”
“I will deliver you.”
“I will redeem you.”
“I will take you to be My people.”
God did not give Moses every detail of the plan.
He gave Moses something more fundamental:
𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀.
Moses was looking at the worsening circumstances.
God was reminding him of His unchanging covenant.
And that matters.
Because when we are in the middle of a difficult season, we see the chapter we are living in. God sees the whole story.
And perhaps that is what you need to hear today.
Things getting worse does not automatically mean God has left you.
A difficult circumstance does not automatically mean you misunderstood God's leading.
A delayed answer does not mean God has forgotten His promise.
And obedience does not come with a guarantee that the road will immediately become easier.
Sometimes you can be exactly where God has called you to be and still find yourself in a very difficult place.
Moses teaches us something important:
Faith is not the absence of questions.
Moses had questions.
Moses was confused.
Moses was discouraged.
And yet he brought all of it to God.
Maybe you're standing in your own Exodus 5 today.
You obeyed.
You prayed.
You trusted.
You followed where God led.
Yet you're still asking:
“Lord, if this is Your plan, why is everything getting worse?”
You may not have the answer yet.
You may not understand why this season had to unfold this way.
You may not see how God could possibly bring good out of what you're facing.
But don't let what you cannot yet see make you forget what you already know about God.
He hears.
He remembers.
He delivers.
He redeems.
He keeps His promises.
Your circumstances may change.
His character does not.
Moses could not yet see the deliverance.
But God could.
And sometimes faith is simply saying:
“Lord, I don't understand what You are doing.
But I still know who You are.”
