Crisis has a short shelf-life

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.

- Exodus 9:27-28, 34

Human beings have a funky relationship with crisis. We need it and want it, are motivated by it and move as a result of it, but also hate it and want to avoid it.

In today’s passage, Pharaoh and his people experience God’s punishment and judgment. They relent of their evil and repent. But as soon as the crisis passes, they turn back. The shelf-life on their softer hearts lasts only a few hours.

Lest we should be too hard on Pharaoh, we should note that this cycle shows up over and over again in scripture. God’s people sin, experience crisis as a result of their sin, call out to God for help, experience his rescuing power, and then go back to sinning when the pain of the crisis wears off.

Have you ever done this? Have you ever seen people you love repeat this cycle? How do you respond when the pain of crisis passes?

You don’t have to wait for everything to fall apart before you turn around. You don’t have to repeat this cycle. Instead, you can continue to cultivate a heart that turns to the Lord, is devoted to him and surrenders to him. Surrender is a habitual, rhythmic, habit of the soul, not a one-time event.

Where do you need God’s help to keep from going back to life the way it was before? Who do you know that needs God’s help right now? Pray for yourself and for them.

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