I have been thinking about the Egyptian people during the plagues, and how things went down with the everyday folks like you and me. The river turned into blood–meh. That’s a bit creepy, but if you had a sick kid or were worried about keeping your job, you’d let the news pass. Not a big deal.
Frogs in your bed… gross! But honestly, we all grimace and cope with a few days of massive inconvenience and then get back to normal life as soon as we can. Like Pharaoh, once those hoppers got back in the Nile we’d be relieved, not changed.
To me this is interesting, because it reminds me it’s possible to focus on simply getting through a hardship and entirely miss the heart-changing opportunity it presents. Sure, we’re going to start out with a wail of “I can’t take this!” or plead with a detergent company to “Take me away!” But we can also then turn to God and say, humbly “I don’t like this, and I don’t want it, but harden not my heart, Lord. Draw me closer to You and change me for the better through this trial. Teach me to love You in all circumstances.”
That prayer makes any plague–even the worst, most personal, most heart-wrenching one–a different experience.
