swimming in temporal comfort

CALL TO PRAYER

Date: 20/11/2021

By: Owusu Clifford S.

Title – Swimming in temporal comfort

Exodus 8:15 – But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

For some weeks now, I and another person have been studying the book of Exodus. Though we are just at the early stages of the book, the understanding the Holy Spirit has been giving us has been wonderful. In today’s Call to Prayer, I want to elaborate on the character of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt and link it to our Christian lives so that it will help us in our Christian walk.

There are various insights that I have gained by studying together with this wonderful person, but one thing that has caught my attention is Pharaoh’s attitude of swimming in temporal comfort. If you critically read the plagues that came upon the land of Egypt, you realise that there was great distress whenever God sent a plague on the land. One thing that is apparent is that in the heat of the moment (during the plague and distress) Pharaoh will promise to the let people of Israel go so that they can worship the Lord (Exodus 8:8, 8:28). He would then call Moses to pray so that the Lord will reverse the plague (Exodus 8:8).

However, anytime the plague was reversed and the distress was over, Pharaoh hardened his heart again and would not let the Israelites go (Exodus 7:23, 8:15). Now there are some lessons that we can learn from Pharaoh’s attitude. First, the word of God to Pharaoh was clear and unambiguous, and it was repeated numerous times, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country…” (Exodus 8:1-2). In the life of most Christians, there is always that thing that the Holy Spirit has prompted us repeatedly to let go, but we still hold on to it. That habit, that sin, that unfruitful relationship or association, etc. It is that thing that is causing our spiritual stagnation.

Secondly, whenever there was relief in the land, Pharaoh turned back to his old ways. Sometimes, after we have prayed, and probably fasted for some time and distress is gone, we return to our old ways (prayerlessness, lack of fasting, back to the old unfruitful habits and relationships, etc). Like Pharaoh, believers of today love to swim in temporal comfort. We should not forget that the spiritual battle is ongoing, and it is fierce and intense. We have to pray without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:16), it is a command and is not negotiable. After Satan failed in his temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, he left him, not forever, but until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). Also, when evil spirits leave a man, they always seek a way back (Matthew 12:43-45), so we cannot afford to let our guard down.

Finally, what would melt Pharaoh’s hardened heart came, when the firstborns of the Egyptians died. It had to take a tragic event for Pharaoh to obey the word of God. I pray that it will not take a tragic event for the believer to obey the word of God and let go of the things that do not please God. May God grant us the grace to let go completely, not partially, so that we can experience the manifestation of the blessings of our Father in our lives. Do not swim in temporal comfort. We do not change a winning strategy. Hence, return to what helped you to overcome in the first place. God bless you!

Prayer:

Let us thank God for His word and the answers to our prayers. Let us pray for the grace to be consistent in doing the things that gave us victory in the first place, and not to return to our old ways again.

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