Faith Before Freedom: Trusting God When the Bricks Get Heavier

This morning’s sermon took us into a part of Exodus that rarely makes anyone’s list of favorite passages.

God had called Moses. He had given him signs. He had sent him back to Egypt with a promise of deliverance. Yet the moment Moses obeyed, things seemed to get worse instead of better.

Pharaoh refused to listen. The Israelites were forced to make the same number of bricks without being provided straw. Their workload increased, their suffering intensified, and before long the people who had welcomed Moses were blaming him for making life harder.

It is a pattern that feels surprisingly familiar.

We often assume that obedience should immediately produce relief, open doors, and visible results. Yet Scripture repeatedly shows that faithfulness frequently encounters resistance before it experiences victory. Moses was doing exactly what God asked him to do, and still he found himself on his knees asking why everything seemed to be unraveling.

One of the pastor’s points that stayed with me was that we have a choice when difficulties come. We can listen to our circumstances, or we can continue listening to God. Israel looked at their circumstances and became discouraged. God, however, had not changed His promise. He was still leading them toward freedom even when they could not see it.

The Christian life is much the same. Difficulty is not always evidence that we are on the wrong path. Sometimes it is simply part of the journey God uses to strengthen faith, build perseverance, and teach us to trust Him more deeply than before.

James tells us to consider it joy when we encounter various trials because those trials produce endurance. Peter reminds us not to be surprised by fiery ordeals. And Jesus assures us that we are not wandering aimlessly through this life. We are moving toward a glorious destination He has prepared for us.

Perhaps that is why endurance matters so much. We can endure present difficulties when we remember where the road ultimately leads.

After the service, we gathered for a fellowship brunch. In what can only be described as one of the great unsolved mysteries of church life, it seemed as though half the congregation arrived carrying lasagna. No one coordinated it. No committee planned it. Yet somehow casserole after casserole appeared on the tables as if everyone had received the same secret memo.

There may not have been enough variety for a food critic, but there was certainly no shortage of fellowship, laughter, and full plates.

And perhaps that was fitting. A sermon about perseverance followed by a room full of people sharing a meal together is a good reminder that God often provides encouragement for the journey through the simple blessing of Christian community. 🕊️🌱⛪️