Work Woes

Exodus 5:10-14: “Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'  
The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

This verse is especially telling because someone I love is quite overwhelmed in his job today. It’s actually been ongoing for a very long time. The slave drivers keep beating him down more and more. What’s worse, I’m helpless to fix or change it. He wants to run. He wants to quit. Pharaoh is just asking for the impossible. He’s trying to squeeze blood from a turnip …

I’m looking into God’s Word for some hope that I can offer this individual. David cried out to the Lord, “I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you. Save your servant who trusts in you...when I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me." (Psalm 86)

That’s the answer! David was able to survive when everything around him was “caving” in - both literally and figuratively - because he called out to God during his distress. His life was in peril when King Saul was hurling spears at him, then chasing him into the desert. Later, David’s heart was shattered to pieces when he fled from his own son, Absolom. Yet, David cried out to God. He clung to Him for his very life. 

This complete dependence on God is reflected In Michael W. Smith’s song, "This Is The Air I Breathe." 

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread
this is my daily bread
your very word spoken to me
And I I'm desperate for you
And I I'm lost without you

Today I pray that the one I love will depend on God like that. I pray he will desperately seek his heavenly father like the very air he breathes. Even if God doesn’t choose to ease the crazy, impossible demands of the slave drivers right now, I know that God will provide much-needed protection, and healing and peace.