July 9, 2026
Thursday, July 9
There’s a saying we have for someone who is abundantly smarter than their opponents: “He’s playing chess while everybody else is playing checkers.” The saying only makes sense if you’ve played both games. Checkers is a simple game that even small children can understand. A typical game lasts around 10 minutes. Chess is amazingly complex. Games can take hours (the world record for a tournament match is 24 ½ hours). Not only does each game piece have its own unique ways of moving, but the player must think many moves ahead, employing his pieces like soldiers on a battlefield, being willing to sacrifice some in order to advance his plan, while also anticipating what his opponent will do in response to each move.
God is the ultimate chess master. But He has an advantage. He knows what His opponent will do. And He never, ever loses.
Earlier this week, we saw Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, asking for the Israelite slaves to be given a few days off to worship the Lord. This might have seemed curious at the time. Why not ask Pharaoh for outright freedom, instead of a few days off? God knew that Pharaoh would refuse to let the Israelites go. If Pharaoh had said, “Sure, I’m setting you free,” the Israelites would have considered him The Great Emancipator. There would be statues of him in Jerusalem today. But because he refused, God was able to show the people, “You can’t trust in earthly rulers to save you. Only I can do that.”
So, again, why did God tell Moses to make such a small request, instead of demanding freedom for his people? Because God didn’t just want to save Israelites. He wanted the Egyptians themselves to see that Pharaoh was a tyrant, an insecure despot who wouldn’t even grant his slaves a few days of relief. He wanted people all over the Empire to turn away their earthly ruler and turn to Him. As you will see, many Egyptians did exactly that. But we’ll get to that later.
What I want you to see now is that God still hasn’t told Moses the battle plan. He’s told him, “Here’s what I’m accomplishing,” but He hasn’t told him how He’s going to get there. And the Israelites were struggling:
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
You can see Moses trying his best to keep his people from losing hope: “Good news! God is still with us. He’s still going to set us free!” But the people didn’t believe it. When it says “because of their broken spirit,” that’s a very vivid term in Hebrew. It literally means, “Their shortness of breath.” Have you ever cried so hard, you couldn’t breathe? You’ve had your heart utterly shattered. You’ve wept until you couldn’t catch your breath. That’s where the Israelites were.
Friends, always remember—but especially in those moments when despair is winning the battle for your heart—that we don’t have the battle plan. God does. Our feelings at any given moment are a poor way to judge the reality of the situation. Weeping is good. Sharing your confusion with God is praiseworthy. But always remember: He is working in ways you cannot see. But you will see, in God’s time.
“Lord, prepare me for those moments when I am tempted to give up hope. But also, make me an encourager of those who are despairing all around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
