Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
EXODUS 8:9 – 10
The frog invasion in the book of Exodus must have been a pretty miserable experience for all concerned, so Pharaoh reacted swiftly to summon Moses and ask him to get rid of them.
But look closely at what happened next. Pharaoh told Moses, “Okay, I give in; I don’t want these frogs anymore. Please speak to your God.” Moses replied, “Okay, I will go and speak to God about it.” Then he asked Pharaoh, “By the way, when would you like the frogs to go?” and Pharaoh replied, “Tomorrow.”
Weird! Why, given the choice, would anyone want to spend one more night with the frogs? What was Pharaoh thinking? Some theologians argue that the reason he said this was because he hoped the frogs would disappear overnight, so he wouldn’t have to give God the credit. Whatever his rationale, I just cannot imagine what would compel anyone to spend one more night with a frog infestation if he or she did not have to.
This story serves as a picture of our lives. What “frogs” are we living with that God has offered to remove yet we are still hanging onto for “one more night”?
Everyone has “frogs.” We may not like to acknowledge it or think about it, but we have frogs. What frogs have invaded your life that you have learned to live with? Real frogs are, by nature, noisy creatures. They don’t just sit quietly; they hop around randomly and they croak incessantly. Just like them, the “frogs” in our lives are croaking and making a nuisance of themselves, but so often we choose to ignore the noise and put up with them. But God wants to help us get rid of those frogs so that we can clearly hear his voice and not have it drowned out by their racket.
I don’t know what your specific frogs are, but I wonder why you would choose to spend one more night with them when you have a God who says to you, “I want to set you free.” God wants to release us from the pain of our past, from the hurdles and obstacles that prevent us from being all he created us to be. I realize that it’s not easy to confront our frogs, and I’m not pretending it is — that’s precisely why so many of us say, “I’ll deal with this tomorrow” — but life is for living. That’s why I say, don’t wait until tomorrow. God can set you free today.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
What “frogs” are plaguing your life?
Stress? Rejection? Addiction? Insecurity?
Are you ready to ask God to set you free?