Outdoing God

Doesn't he always make things worse?

I had a few thoughts today during my devotions and I think they are at least worth considering especially for us as artists but also for anyone trying to follow Jesus. I was reading the book of Exodus where Moses is beginning to confront Pharaoh and call the plagues down upon Egypt. Moses throws down his staff and it becomes a snake. Pharaoh’s magicians do the same through their dark arts and theirs become snakes as well (only to be eaten by Moses’s staff). Then Moses turns the water into blood and Pharaoh’s magicians do the same through their dark arts. Finally Moses calls a plague of frogs against Egypt and Pharaoh’s magicians do the same through their dark arts.

My question is why did they do it? Think about it. Pharaoh and his magicians were in essence pitting the power of God against the powers of Satan, whether they realized it or not. They were trying to show that through their dark powers they could do what God can do. What did they accomplish? Well for starters they all lost their staffs and then in every case they added to their own misery. They made matters worse in each case, damaging their own lot in life and I believe they showed us something important.

In our own power we can accomplish some pretty amazing things. It’s not surprising really, we are the children of the Creator, but when we are defiant of God, when we misuse our power, when we go outside His will, the usual effect is we make matters worse. The reason for that is simple. When we walk outside God’s will we walk into the enemy’s will, whether we know it or not. We cannot outdo God and when we try, all we do is make matters worse. So in the words of Joshua, Choose today whom you will serve…

Bible Reading Guide
An important part of following God is knowing what He wants and a great way to know what He wants is to read His Word. Follow this plan and you will finish reading the Bible in a year.
Exodus 25, 26; Psalm 19
You can also download your own chart here.

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