Exo 5:22-6:1 (NIV) Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of My mighty hand he will let them go; because of My mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

Jesus, make it clear to me that it is hard to remain committed to God and be upset with Him at the same time. If I feel like I did something good and God did something bad in response to it, my commitment starts to come apart. Teach me that resistance through commitment work together. Commitment needs me to resist Satan’s accusations against God. Resistance needs my commitment so it won’t waver when it is resisting Satan’s lies. Show me that commitment to God will produce wonderful things in my life. Help me see that resistance will keep horrible things from getting in my life; help me be convinced that they make a wonderful team!

Exo 6:6 (NIV) “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. Jesus, when things look bad, teach me that, that is the time when my commitment needs to be exposed to the promises of God. Help me not try to prove how great my commitment is by being tough. Teach me that my commitment is only as strong as what I feed it. But, help me understand that if I neglect it and don’t keep the truths of God flowing into it, it can get to a place where it is too weak to respond to God’s promises.

Exo 6:9 (NIV) Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. Jesus, help me see that commitment can be crushed, if I don’t resist all the attacks from my body, the world, and the devil. When things get difficult, show me that I can multiply my sorrow and discouragement by allowing them to itemize everything that is going wrong. Satan will try to get me to make a list of all the things that are coming against me. Empower me to resist them and stay committed to God.

Exo 6:11-12 (NIV) “Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.” But Moses said to the LORD, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” Jesus, teach me that commitment is a God-empowered determination to not give up. Teach me that resistance is God’s power to help me stay committed. Help me realize that discouragement, frustration, hopelessness, and despair are weapons of the devil, aimed at my commitment. Teach me that resistance is my weapon for destroying all these things that try to get me to give up.

Exo 7:13-14 (NIV) Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.” Jesus, help me see that the bigger the battle the greater the victory. If something is easy, the victory is small. But, if I am not committed, I will only see small victories because I don’t stay steadfast during difficult times. But, if I let You give me a strong commitment, God will give me a huge win. Help me always stay the course.

Jesus, teach me Your principles as I watch God perform nine incredible judgments on Egypt. Show me that He was trying to let Pharoah and all of Egypt know He is Lord. Then show me that He poured out one more plague on them so they would know they were hurting His first born, Israel. They had tortured His people long enough. He wanted them to let them go. Plus, help see that He wanted Egypt to know that the gods they are serving were false. The Egyptians had seen witch craft and small trickery; but, they had never seen anything like that. But, teach me that Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel had to have a deep commitment and had to resist the temptation to quit.

Exo 12:22-23 (NIV) Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Exo 12:12-13 (NIV) On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Exo 12:29 (NIV) At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.

Exo 12:31-33 (NIV) During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!” Jesus, help me see that it takes a lot of commitment and resistance to win the big battles; but, the victory is awesome!

Exo 12:40-41 (NIV) Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.

Jesus, help me that the nation of Israel was formed in Egypt. Help me see how You directed Jacob and his family to come there because of a famine in the land. Show me how God orchestrated Joseph’s life so he would be in Egypt storing up food. God wanted the Israelite people to grow and multiply from a family to twelve tribes, and from twelve tribes to a nation. But, help me understand that since they were a nation of slaves, they had a lot to learn about being a nation of free people. So, God had further plans for Moses in bringing all the things this new nation needed to survive in a new environment.

Jesus, make it clear to me that every person on this planet is here with a plan and purpose from God. Some people open their heart and mind to God and yield to His plan. Others yield their own plan, a plan that others put on them, or a plan that the devil has for them. Show me that just like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses fit into the plan of God, so do I. God has a reason for recording these people’s lives. As I allow His reasons to do what they were intended to do, let them empower me to reach my full potential.

Jesus, help me see that just like the Children of Israel were under Egyptian slavery, many of the people around me are under satanic slavery. The good news message from You will set them free. Teach me that it is done on an individual basis and not as a group. But, the deliverance will actually be more impactful because I am helping with their eternal destination.