Today’s scripture: Exodus 8:8-10 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Angie Best):
If I had a plague of frogs raining down on every surface of my kingdom, under my feet and on my pillow, you can bet I wouldn’t waste a minute getting rid of them. I’d tell Moses to start praying before the offer was even out of his mouth. You can get rid of these mountains of slimy, jumping amphibians? Let’s go! Not Pharaoh. He puts Moses off until tomorrow. If you literally have a plague of frogs and a standing offer to get rid of them at any time, why on earth would you wait until tomorrow?
Cleaning up a bunch of dead frogs would be a mess and you never know what you might uncover. After a while, you might actually get used to them. On second thought, tell God to work on it tomorrow, Moses.
When I turned 12, my mom left, leaving my younger brother and I behind. A few years later, my dad left suddenly, too and I was completely on my own. The great struggle of my life since has been to believe I am worth staying for, that I won’t ultimately be abandoned by those who know me best. I get close to someone and assume they already have one foot out the door, one hand on the doorknob. They won’t stay, I tell myself. They never do. My plague of insecurity. I’d do anything to get rid of it.
How do I handle it? I leave first. At the first sign that the journey is hard, or my partner may be struggling, I jump ship. I guarantee you won’t leave me by leaving you first. Problem solved. Except it’s not. That plague of insecurity isn’t gone, but now the relationship is. I’ll get it right next time. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.
Why tomorrow? Because sometimes it is more comfortable to sit with the current misery than to do the spiritual work required for real change. Because If I truly would do anything to get rid of the plague, it means doing the hard work. It means staying through the messy parts, praying through the clean-ups, and showing up with a heart that’s more open. It’s staying and trusting the mystery. In other words, it’s hard work with no guarantees. But it’s also the only way I know of to get rid of plagues.
Because I’m not willing to spend one more night with the frogs.
Thought for the day: What ‘frogs’ are destroying your peace? Anxiety, depression, fear, un-forgiveness? Seek God’s wisdom to help you address that which would steal your joy.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.