Give me your heart!

It says in Exodus 9 “All Egypt lay in ruins.  Everything left in the fields, men and animals alike, was killed, and the trees were shattered and the crops were destroyed…Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. ‘I (Pharaoh) finally see my fault,’ he confessed.  ‘Jehovah is right, and I and my people have been wrong all along.  Beg God to end this terrifying thunder and hail, and I will let you go at once.’…So Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city and lifted his hands to heaven to the Lord, and the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain ceased pouring down.  When Pharaoh saw this, he and his officials…refused to let the people (the Hebrews) leave.”

My in-laws used to have a dog that would climb into the Bathtub every time a thunder storm would start.  He was afraid and would shake a little out of sheer nervousness.  It was kind of sad and little cute at the same time.  But nevertheless when there was a storm without fail you would find this dog huddled in a ball, properly placed inside the bathtub.

Pharaoh, in this story above is modeling similar behavior.  Moses and Aaron were commissioned to go and get the people of Israel from Egypt, and rescue them from slavery.  And every time Pharaoh would refuse, God would send some miracle to show that he meant business.  And this is what we see going on here.  Pharaoh is huddled in a corner, afraid of the golf ball size hail that is coming down, the rain and thunder that is destroying his city.  So in a time of panic he says… “ok, ok, take your people and go, but please just pray to your God to stop this destruction”.

So Moses leaves, prays to God and the plague is ended.  Pharaoh realizing that it is over, goes back on his word and keeps the people of Israel in bondage.  Which brings me to the point of all this…

I know that there are times in all of our lives where I do this same Pharaoh like ritual.  Only instead of keeping people captive in my basement.  I keep my heart captive.  It’s a battle that I fight constantly.  In a time of crises I make deals with God to help me get out.  To ease the pain and bring safety and security my way again.  And then when the clouds are lifted and the smoke has cleared I will go to work recapturing my heart from God.  I will make decisions, without seeking God and in some cases leaving him out of my life totally.

I believe that God has called us to a life of balance.  And this is really difficult to maintain.  Especially when ten out of ten people would say that life is anything but balanced.  But I know that is why we have to maintain  our faith at all times in our lives.  During the ups and the downs we have to continually give our hearts back to God.  Through reading our Bibles, worshiping and prayer.  Giving control of our lives to him.

And remember this, a consistent faith is better than a bunch of failed promises.  God knows that we are bad deal makers,  that we are bad at making promises.  So everyday we must live in such a way that says, “Lord I give you my heart”.