Don't deal with the devil.

In the first chapter of Exodus we see the tables turn on the children of Israel. Once honored by their Egyptian hosts they now find themselves oppressed and abused. Pharaoh demands that the Hebrew midwives kill all the male newborns in order to suppress the prolific growth God had blessed His people with. The devil is always trying to rob God's people of God's blessings.

Here is what I want to focus on in this post. The midwives refused to comply at the risk of their own lives. They concocted some cockamamie story about Hebrew women giving birth during their 15 minute OSHA mandated work break before they could get there. Really? Did they really think that Pharaoh would buy that and even if he did would it get them off the hook? I don't know but I do know that they were unwilling to compromise and for that God rewarded them. Apparently they were unable to have children of their own. Can you imagine the personal pain they felt with every birth they witnessed?

Verse 21 says that 'because they feared God', more than Pharaoh I might add, God was 'good to them' and 'established households for them'. Here is the deal -

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." - Galatians 5:1 NASB

If Jesus has set us free then why in the world would we settle for a longer chain? The midwives could have carried out the king's decree and ensured their survival but at what personal cost? Let me give you a modern day example.

A single lady has been praying for God to send her 'the one'. You know the drill, as time passes the standards lower. She started out asking for Jesus Himself and now is just looking for someone with a job (or at least a good job prospect). She finds a guy who says that he is a Christian but, "Just hasn't found the right church." He attends with her for awhile and then starts picking apart the music, the message, the people, the pastor, etc. Before you know it they are church shopping which is just his way to get her disconnected because his end game is him on the couch or at the lake or in the deer stand every Sunday. You think I'm exaggerating? I can name names.

When we settle for less than God's best we are making a deal with the devil. Compromise may eliminate the immediate pressure but it always comes at a great price. Stay the course, keep your eyes on the prize and finish the race. Whatever it is that God has for you is worth the effort and the wait.