Why did you ever send me?

“Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 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

Before God called and sent Moses he had been living as a fugitive in the backside of the desert for 40 years. The number 40 in the Bible is the number of testing. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they wandered around the wilderness for forty years. Their weak faith, which was revealed in their wilderness wandering, kept them out of the promise land. 

Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness and was tested by the devil for forty days (Luke 4:1-2). He passed the test by wielding the Word of God to overcome the schemes of the enemy. 

In Genesis, when the flood came in Noah’s day, we read, “And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12). Because Noah and the family were in the ark (type of Christ) they survived the flood. Everyone outside of it perished. 

Once again the number forty in the word of God when attached to specific circumstances involving His people, has deep meaning, namely that God is putting someone to the test. 

Why the testing? Among other things, God tests us to prepare us for fruitful ministry. Testing also has a way of not only fashioning our character, but revealing it. When we are squeezed, what’s inside will come out. Furthermore, divine testing will reveal our problems and God’s power to overcome them. 

God is looking to do great things through men and women who will stand firm and do what is right even under great pressure. 

After God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, he found himself in another test. When confronting Pharaoh to let his people go, things seemed to go from bad to worse. The slave driver made things harder on the people than before and it all seemed impossible to endure. 

However, what looked like a devastating setback, was actually a divine set up for God to show His power in the world and bring deliverance to his people. Moses hung in there with God’s help and day by day he was strengthened in his faith. He would go on to become the greatest leader in all of history.

When we set out to do something for God that’s from God, it will not always be smooth sailing. There will be testings and trials that are designed by God to lead us to triumph. We will at times feel like Moses when he said, “Why did you ever send me?” Going through a test doesn’t mean that God didn’t send you. It means that He is further sanctifying you to equip you for the much more that He has planned for you. 

A faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted. 

When tested, bring your burden to the Lord. Seek His grace to endure. In His time He will turn your test into a testimony of His grace and power for your good and His glory! He is faithful!