Good Enough

     Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
     Moses said to Pharaoh, “I will pray for you, your people, and your officials. Then the frogs will leave you and your houses. They will remain only in the river. When do you want the frogs to go away?”
     Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.”
     Moses said, “It will happen as you say. In this way you will know that there is no god like the Lord our God. The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the river.”
     Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Moses prayed to the Lord about the frogs he had sent against Pharaoh. And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards, and in the fields. They began to rot, and the whole country began to stink. But when Pharaoh saw that they were free of the frogs, he again became stubborn. Pharaoh did not do what Moses and Aaron had asked him to do.

Exodus 8:8-15b

As we read through Exodus, the plagues give me the willies - especially the frogs. The LORD God tells Pharaoh vs 3-4, "The Nile River will be filled with frogs. They will come from the river and enter your houses. They will be in your bedrooms and in your beds. They will be in the houses of your officials and in your ovens and in your jars of water. The frogs will be all over you, your people, and your officials.” Can you picture that? Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. "All over you..."  

What do you think bothered him more - the frogs or all the screaming and squealing because of them? It didn't take long. Verse 8 tells us, "Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Ask the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.' ” So the frogs died, and the citizens gathered them into heaps and they stank. But when Pharaoh got a break from the frogs, no more crawling all over him or his people - Good Enough - he went right back to his old ways.

Have you ever done that? Begged God for His best, promise whatever He wants - maybe give up that habit / addictive behavior - but as soon as we get a little break. One we can live with, it's good enough. Or is it?  

We have to ask ourselves - for whom is it good enough? For us or for God?

Prayer:

Father, 

          Please forgive us for measures we deem Good Enough. Our ways in no way measure up to Yours. You told us that clearly through Your prophet, Isaiah. We will seek You, LORD, while we can find You. We will call on You now while You are near. We choose to change our ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. We turn to You, Father, seeking Your mercy. You promise that as we do turn back to You, You will forgive generously. You are so much more than good enough! Through Christ our LORD, we pray. Amen