No More Junk In Your Trunk
A little while ago I sat down and went through a pile of emails—junk, coupons, and a few daily biblical encouragement letters. One of the Christian emails really struck me and I immediately wanted to go over it with you: it talked about the story of the plagues in the Old Testament that God placed over Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go.
The short study focused on Exodus 8:9-10 NIV which says:
“Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.””
The author of the Bible study posed the question: why didn’t Pharaoh ask for the frogs to be removed right then and there? Why did he choose to suffer yet another day with the miserable creatures by asking Moses to remove them tomorrow?
I’ve actually done a study on this subject before—I’m sure many of you reading may have heard the same question asked about this passage—but the purpose of it needs to be repeated. The first time I studied that passage I thought the same thing. The frogs were placed in Egypt as a curse. They were absolutely everywhere that you could imagine. In the streams, in the fields, in the trees, in everyone’s homes, in their beds, in their pots, in their stored wheat and barley and grain. The Word says the frogs covered the land (Exodus 8:6 NIV). Pharaoh was not exempt from this curse; the frogs were in his palace and in his bed as well. He suffered right along with his people. In fact, the only ones not disturbed by the frogs were the Israelites—God’s people.
So why on earth did Pharaoh choose to suffer one more day of these slimy little things?
Well… why do you choose to suffer one more day in your affliction?
Why haven’t you accepted deliverance from your alcohol addiction today?
Why didn’t you step away from pornography today?
Why did you choose to suffer yet another day of lying? Disobedience? Obesity? Adultery? Foul language? Smoking? Doubt? Worry? Disbelief? Anger? Fornication?
Some of you might shake your head and say, Vay, you don’t understand. My struggle is different from Pharaoh’s.
Is it…?
Do you think God Almighty sees your refusal to accept deliverance through Christ’s blood as something bright and beautiful? Do you think God Almighty looks at your refusal to turn away from sin as anything better than the slimy, dirty, stinky frogs that plagued Egypt?
No. He doesn’t.
Your sin may not be a literal frog hopping around, but it is just as dirty and just as disgusting to God as the frogs were to the Egyptians. So don’t sit in your sin for a second longer. God offered you the same bargain He offered to Pharaoh when Jesus hung on the cross. You don’t have to ask Moses to pray to God on your behalf. You can go boldly to the throne of God and ask Him yourself to remove your burden, your yoke, your addiction, your illness, your emotional hindrance, your unhealthy relationship. Not only that… you can ask Him to remove it RIGHT NOW. And the best part? God WANTS to remove it from you!
There are many Christians who walk about accepting an illness because they believe God is punishing them for something or that God doesn’t want to bless them. Many Believers who think this way will often say things like; God is punishing me for my sin, so I suffer this illness. God will heal me when He is ready—God will bless me when He wants to—my friend, this is the wrong mindset to have about God.
Scripture says, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 KJV
That is Jesus talking in that verse and He is talking about His purpose for you. Christ hung on the cross so that you can have life—and not just life, abundant life. Now what does that mean? It means life above and beyond. Rich life. Wonderful life. Beautiful life.
Many see that scripture and think it only refers to having abundant finances. While Christ can also bless us with money, you must dig deeper than that. Having abundant life doesn’t just mean having a full bank account. It also means having abundant health, having abundant joy, abundant peace, abundant opportunities to spread the Gospel, abundant love, abundant knowledge, abundant understanding of the Word, and beyond….
Stop thinking that God doesn’t want to bless you or heal you or deliver you. You have already been blessed, healed, and delivered at the cross over two-thousand years ago! You just have to step forward and claim it—in faith. My pastor always says: As children of the Most High God, we fight from victory not to victory.
The battle is already yours. Stop wallowing with the frogs and have God remove them today—not tomorrow—right this moment, not later on.