Today I read Exodus 8, which details the plagues of the frogs, lice, and flies. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh to do the miracles and wonders. Pharaoh even asked Moses to pray for relief from them. Today I considered how God can provide assistance and consequences can come with answered prayer.
Moses and Aaron
Moses did not go by himself to perform the miracles; he was afraid and had an assistant. In each plague that was coming, God told Moses about the plague and Moses told Aaron (Exodus 8:5 &16). Aaron would then perform the things Moses told him to do (Exodus 8:6 &17). Even Pharaoh asked for both Moses and Aaron when he sent for them (Exodus 8:25). Even if we are afraid and ask God for an assistant, God will still use us.
Relief with Consequences
God granting a prayer can still come with consequences. Imagine frogs crawling and leaping everywhere from the bathroom to the bedroom to the kitchen. Pharaoh requested Moses and Aaron ask God to remove the frogs from him (Exodus 8:8). Pharaoh even said he would let the people go. Moses prayed and the frogs died. Dead frogs were place in piles in Egypt but they stank. God may deliver us from a situation but that does not mean there are not consequences.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
God killed the frogs and the flies after Moses prayed. It would have been better to not have the frogs and flies everywhere to begin with. It is better to do what God asks than to have to clean up the mess.
When is the last time you did something you knew would displease God and ended up cleaning up a mess?