When God sent Moses and Aaron to talk to Pharaoh, the meeting actually caused more work for the Israelites, not less. Unsurprisingly, the increased work load upset the Israelites who then went and talked to Moses and Aaron.
“They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh, and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 6:20-21)
The Israelites had the mindset that they were in the right, Moses and Aaron were in the wrong, and God was obviously on the Israelites side. They were calling on God to condemn their adversaries.
Do we think that God is on our side when we are in conflict with others? We don’t purposefully do something if we know it’s wrong. So in a disagreement, we are in the right, they are in the wrong, so God is naturally going to be on our side. Right? Don’t we pray to God to fix or change that person that we disagree with?
In this story from Exodus, God was on the Israelites side, so-to-speak. But what the Israelites failed to see was that God was on Moses and Aaron’s side as well. The conflict was not really between the Israelites and Moses, the conflict was between God and Pharoah. But the Israelites were condemning men who were sent by God to ultimately help. And we, like these Israelites, often lash out at what’s right in front of us instead of recognizing who the real adversary is.
Could the person you are in conflict with be trying to do what they believe is right? Could it be that they are being used by God; it’s just that things are not going the way that you think they should?
The real conflict in our lives is between God and Satan. And instead of us thinking that God is on our side, we need to get in the mindset that we are on God’s side.
Today, pray for those who you may be in conflict with (without condemning them) and recognize that God’s plan involves them just as much as it involves you.