COMPLAINING WHEN WE PRAY

Exodus 5:15-21
     The Bible admonishes us to walk by faith, not by sight (2Cor 5:7). This means that we believe those things which we do not see...the existence of things which are invisible. We pray to an unseen God, we believe that angels exist as ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation, the return of Christ, answers to prayer, etc. To walk by faith is to live in the confident expectation of things that are to come, as promised in God's Word.  We trust in that which we do not always understand, believing that God, in His infinite wisdom has our best interests in mind. Simply put, we believe and act as if things unseen are true.
      This is  contradistinguished from living under the influence of things that are seen by the "I must see it to believe it" attitude.  This does not mean that when we walk by faith, we are not influenced, even governed by sight, but rather as we walk in this world, we are not solely relying on things that are seen.
       If we are honest, we sometimes complain to God about our situations. Even when our history indicates that God has been faithful, do we not sometimes, in the midst of a trial, find ourselves complaining in prayer about things as they are, when we should be walking by faith and not by sight? Does not our sight, sometimes at least (maybe most times), obscure our faith? There are many times when I would really rather SEE what God is doing than WAIT in faith.
       Our text reveals the humanity of our hero, Moses. Notice his COMPLAINT in verses 22-23. Paraphrased, he says, "This is not what I expected. I did what you told me to do...and things have gotten worse instead of better...why didn't You do what You said about delivering Israel from Egyptian bondage?"
        Have you ever complained about what was going on when things didn't happen as you expected? (See 2Kings 5:11)  Our ways and thoughts are not the same as God's (Isa. 55:8-9). He operates from the vantage point of Omnipotence and Eternity...we are limited to the immediate time frame. We do not know what He knows, but, we can learn to trust...to walk by faith. Our response to God's call is not an easy path of uninterrupted success.
       GOD'S ANSWER (Ex. 6:1-8) Notice that God answered Moses' complaint with patience, which is one of the characteristics of God revealed as longsuffering in Ex 34:6.  God never said WHEN He would deliver His people...only that He WOULD. Note the "I will's" in vs. 1-8. These are based on "I AM". What God does, He does because of Who He IS! God does not always answer prayer according to our schedules.
      More Conversation ensues in Ex 6:9-12. Moses spoke, but the people 'hearkened not' because of 'anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage' (their circumstances). Living 'under the circumstances' causes frustration because we are walking by sight, it is learning to live 'above the circumstances' by faith (Col.3:2, Eph. 2:6), that leads to the peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:7).
     God's Response is in vs 10-11. "Go again...He gave them a charge (command). Like a patient parent who has given leave of a child to make their case known, but has to pull the parent card of authority, God says "Just do it!". Fast forward to Ex. 7:6, "...and Moses did as...commanded..." True prayer results in obedience. Sometimes, we must do our part in order for God to do His part. We may complain in our lack of understanding, but we must trust enough to obey. Hebrews 11:1-2
      We may not know the details, but we can trust Him. Daniel Whittle penned the words to "I Know Whom I Have Believed", a good reminder to walk by faith, especially when sight is blurred!