When Obedience Makes Things Harder

Exodus 5:22–23 (ESV)
“Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.’”

Exodus 5 is a hard chapter because Moses obeys God, and things get worse.

That is not how we usually expect obedience to work.

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and say, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go.’” This is exactly what God told them to do. Moses is not acting on his own idea. He is not freelancing the mission. He is stepping into the assignment God gave him.

But Pharaoh does not respond with surrender.

He responds with resistance.

He says, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?” Then he increases the burden on the people. No more straw will be given to them, but they still have to make the same number of bricks. The work becomes harder. The pressure becomes heavier. The people suffer more.

And suddenly Moses is caught in the tension between God’s promise and Pharaoh’s resistance.

That is a difficult place to be.

Moses obeyed, but the immediate result looked like failure. He stepped out in faith, but the situation seemed worse. He spoke what God told him to speak, but instead of deliverance, there was more pain.

That is why Moses cries out to the Lord.

“O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?”

That is an honest prayer.

It may not sound polished. It may not sound theologically neat. But it is real. Moses is confused. He is discouraged. He does not understand why obedience has led to more suffering instead of immediate breakthrough.

And if we are honest, many of us have felt something similar.

There are times when we do the right thing, and it does not get easier. We tell the truth, and the relationship gets more tense. We obey God, and the road gets more complicated. We step into calling, and the pressure increases. We pray, serve, give, forgive, lead, or surrender, and instead of seeing things get better right away, it feels like everything gets heavier.

I remember before we planted The Rise Church, there was a conversation I needed to have with a member of our team. I was in leadership over them, and it had become very, very clear that they were not a good fit for what we were doing. That conversation was not only difficult, but there were a lot of people who did not understand what I was telling them in that season.

As the days, weeks, and months went on, there was initially great opposition to taking that step of obedience. But I knew it was what the Lord had called me to do. It was hard. It was costly. It was uncomfortable. And in the moment, it did not feel like things were getting better.

But in time, they did.

That is often how obedience works. The hardest first step can become the one that is most worth it.

Exodus 5 reminds us that increased resistance does not mean failed obedience.

Sometimes resistance rises because God is confronting what has held people captive.

Pharaoh’s reaction reveals the battle. He does not want to release control. He does not want to acknowledge the Lord. He does not want to loosen his grip on the people of Israel. So when the word of the Lord confronts Pharaoh’s power, Pharaoh pushes back.

That still happens.

When God begins to bring freedom, the things that have held people captive do not always let go quietly. Sin does not always release its grip without a fight. Pride does not always surrender immediately. Fear does not always disappear at the first step of obedience. Strongholds do not always crumble the moment truth is spoken.

Sometimes things get stirred up before they get set free.

But that does not mean God is absent.

The end of Exodus 5 is not the end of the story. Moses says, “You have not delivered your people at all,” but God is not finished. Moses is looking at the immediate moment, but God is working a larger plan. Moses sees Pharaoh’s resistance. God sees the coming deliverance.

That is important for us.

We often judge obedience by immediate results. If things get easier, we assume we heard God correctly. If things get harder, we wonder if we missed Him. But Scripture shows us again and again that obedience does not always produce instant relief.

Sometimes obedience leads through difficulty before it leads to deliverance.

So today, if you have taken a step of obedience and things feel harder than expected, do not assume God has abandoned the story. Do not assume the promise has failed. Do not assume resistance means you were wrong to obey.

Bring your questions to the Lord like Moses did.

But keep trusting Him.

God can handle honest prayers. He can handle confused hearts. He can handle the moments where we say, “Lord, I do not understand what You are doing.” But our confusion does not cancel His faithfulness.

Because sometimes the pressure that follows obedience is not proof that God is absent.

It is proof that the battle for freedom is real.

Prayer
Lord, help us trust You when obedience does not make life easier right away. Give us faith when resistance rises and courage when the pressure increases. Teach us to bring our honest questions to You without walking away from You. Remind us that You are still faithful, even when we cannot yet see the deliverance. Help us keep obeying, keep trusting, and keep standing on Your promise. In Jesus’ name, amen.