Exodus 5:3-9

Moses, the divine deliverer, had arrived on the scene. He had spoken the Lord's words. But instead of deliverance all the Hebrews got was despair. Their workload actually increased. Dashed hopes. We've all had them, especially when we're in the valley of despair. We keep thinking we're climbing out only to find that the valley stretches even farther into the horizon.

One of the things I love about scripture is the reader's ability to see what's going on behind the scenes, to know how each story ends and to see how God masterfully weaves each strand together to create a masterpiece.

The Israelites didn't know that part of God's plan was to use Pharaoh's stubbornness to display His awesome power. They didn't know that part of God's plan was to put such fear in the Egyptian's hearts that they would gladly give the departing Hebrews all of their riches. The Hebrews didn't have the stories of the Bible that tell of God's faithfulness over and over again. But we do.

When the circumstances of life dash our hopes and we see no way out, we can find stories in the Bible that show us God's amazing power to deliver, to turn tragedy to triumph, to set captives free, to restore our hope.