1618 What God Is Doing

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

God uses hardened hearts for his glory.

Right now, in your life, someone has a hardened heart. Someone isn’t listening. Someone is making life ridiculously hard. And you’re asking God why. Why won’t they change? Why won’t they open their eyes and see the path they’re on and the destruction it’s leading to? Why won’t they stop?

May our questions change from why to what. What is God doing here? What is he aligning for his glory? What good plan does he have aligned through this?

In Exodus we read of the Egyptian king with the hardened heart, Pharaoh. God not only allowed Pharaoh’s hardened heart, but he orchestrated it for a greater purpose. Exodus 7: 3, the Lord says, “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.”

God’s power would be seen through the condition of Pharaoh’s hardened heart. One hardened heart would be used to prove God’s protection, provisions and personal involvement for over 2 million Israelites.

The Lord told his servant, Moses, to go to Pharaoh and demand the Israelites be set free from slavery in Egypt. But God had planned for Pharaoh to refuse. The question isn’t “Why, God”, but the question is, “What, God … What are you doing through this?”

What God was doing was bigger than the problem being faced. The problem was slavery in Egypt and a leader who refused to let them go. And no doubt, that sucks. Their work was hard. Their life was unfair. But God was getting personally involved! WHAT God was doing through this hardship was more than a temporary relief, it was a show of his glory and power that no one could deny.

My sister, God is getting personally involved in your hardship. He has heard your cries. His relief will not be temporary here. It will be an undeniable show of his power involved in the details of your problems, and God will receive all the glory!

Get ready to give him glory!

Each time Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, God’s power showed up in the form of a plague on the Egyptians, but the Israelites were protected. First all the water turned to blood. Second, they were invaded by frogs. Pharaoh promised set the Israelites free if Moses would appeal to God and take the problems away. Moses cried out to God for help, and God miraculously intervened and removed the problems. Then, guess what happened … Void of the problems, Pharaoh quickly returned to his old ways. Exodus 8: 15, “But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen.”

Plague after plague, it happened. Horrible things happened to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, he would promise to let the Israelites go, but as soon as God made the problem go away, Pharaoh would change his mind and return to his hardened heart.

And through it all, God was not at all surprised. Nor was God stopped or limited. God’s power showed up all the more. God’s glory grew and grew.

God works through hardened hearts, bad decisions, and hardships. This is the stage for his power to be displayed. This is where God does what only God can do. This is where we will know it is God who saved us!

So, there’s a hardened heart that is making a mess for you? Talk to God about that. Ask for his involvement. Ask for his mercy. Ask for second chances, third chances, 47th chances for the one with the hardened heart. Don’t stop asking. God’s power will not stop. There is no limit to what he can do.

But know this, when hearts won’t change, God’s power will not stop. Be like Moses, and continue to seek God’s intervention in the situation.

Moses witnessed God’s miracles through every plague brought onto Egypt. He was even personally involved in these miracles. And God’s people had undeniable proof of his power in their lives. And God received glory.

Glory for the bloody water, glory for the frogs, glory for the gnats and flies and locusts, glory for the boils, glory for the hail, glory for the darkness, and glory for the protection of his people’s livestock and families. It was all around God’s people, but his people were protected.

It’s all around you right now, but you will be protected. See him working here. Keep your heart soft to the ways of the Lord. Don’t grow tired of how he miraculously causes the sun to rise for you each morning. Don’t grow unimpressed by his breath that fills your lungs and gives you life. Don’t grow numb to his works all around you.

Sometimes God allows the hardship so we continue to look to him. Aren’t we just like Pharaoh, we believe when we need to, but we quickly return to old ways when the problems go away? Exodus 9: 34, “When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart.”

Lord, don’t let us return to our sin when things get easier again. Don’t let us take your miracles for granted. Keep our hearts turned toward you, even when times are sweet and we’re surrounded by goodness. And when times are hard, may we change our questioning from “Why, God”, to “What, God … What are you doing? What miracles do you want me to see? What changes do you want me to make? What glory can I offer you?”

God works through hardened hearts and harsh conditions. He works through the things we wish we could avoid and the things we can’t make go away. He works through the ordinary, and he works through the extraordinary. This is all a stage for God’s great works in your life and he wants you to see what he is doing.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com