“Now see what I will do"

       “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this
     people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went
     to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought
     trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued
     your people at all.”
       Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see
     what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of My mighty
     hand he will let them go; because of My mighty
     hand he will drive them out of his country.”
       ~ Exodus 5:22-6:1


At this point in Exodus, Moses had told Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the desert to worship God. Instead of letting them go, Pharaoh made the Israelites’ work more difficult. Moses went before God and asked Him why he did this (Ex 5:22-23). This was the point where God said “Now see what I will do.” To show His power to Moses, the Israelites, Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God didn’t just go into Egypt and free His people. God went into Egypt and made an already bad situation worse to show what He could do. He revealed all His power to everyone involved. At a time when Moses thought things were not going to change, God revealed His power.
During Beast (cadet basic training) last summer, my company spent a night out in the field. And that night the rain fell very hard. Pretty much everyone was all wet. Where I laid down to sleep I was half protected from the rain, but my clothes were still soaked through. It was miserable. I think I prayed, but I don’t remember what I prayed. God showed me what He could do. He gave me peace and let me fall asleep even in my discomfort. And then He showed me what a blessing the rain was. The rain in my uniform had acted as a wet suit and kept me warm when I otherwise would have been quite cold. He had also kept my pack and the fresh set of clothes inside perfectly dry. Hallelujah, LORD!
Have you had a “now see what I can do” experience? God does not completely condemn doubts. He does, however, say that instead of being led by your doubts, you should follow your faith. Paul didn’t say “We live by faith without doubts”; he said “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). God says to live by faith even though you have doubts. God wants you to choose to live by faith in spite of what you see. Faith is so much more powerful if the world says one thing, but you choose to follow God anyway.
Give yourself and your problems to God. Then see what He will do.
Do you believe God will answer your prayer even though the world says He won’t? Have you stepped aside to see what God will do?
What does the story of Moses leading God’s people out of Egypt (Exodus 1-14) teach us about having faith and following God in the face of doubt and opposition?