The Power of Sustained Resistance

Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026

Here’s the uncomfortable truth we need to sit with: God hardens Pharaoh’s heart. Not once, but repeatedly. And before you try to soften that or explain it away, let it settle. The God who loves the world, who desires all to come to repentance, actively reinforces Pharaoh’s rebellion. Why? Because sometimes the greatest display of glory comes through sustained resistance, not immediate compliance.

Look at what’s happening in Exodus 7. Moses and Aaron show up with God’s credentials, including a staff that becomes a serpent and water that turns to blood. Pharaoh’s magicians replicate the signs. But here’s what we miss: their imitation doesn’t disprove God’s power; it sets the stage for demonstrating the difference between conjuring tricks and divine authority. God could have obliterated Pharaoh in chapter 5. Instead, He choreographs a slow-motion confrontation that will echo through history.

This isn’t divine cruelty. It’s strategic revelation. Every plague, every hardened response, every “No” from Pharaoh becomes another layer in the testimony that will be told for generations. “Remember what the Lord did in Egypt” becomes the rallying cry of a people who need to know their God doesn’t just nudge history, He commands it.

Fast forward to the New Testament and you see the same pattern. Paul quotes this exact story in Romans 9, wrestling with how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility coexist. The answer isn’t neat. God raises up vessels of wrath to display His power and makes known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy. Pharaoh’s hardness serves Israel’s freedom. Judas’s betrayal serves humanity’s redemption. God doesn’t waste our rebellion; He repurposes it.

But here’s where it gets personal: if God can use Pharaoh’s hardness for His purposes, what does that mean for your resistance? For the areas where you’ve been saying “No” to God’s direction? Your stubbornness doesn’t surprise Him or derail His plan. But it might be costing you the joy of participating in what He’s doing rather than being an object lesson in what happens when we don’t.

The mercy in Psalm 30 becomes even more profound against this backdrop. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” For Israel, that morning came after the final plague, after the hardening served its purpose, after they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. God’s severe mercy—letting Pharaoh resist—led to His people’s deliverance. Sometimes God’s “No” to our timeline is a “Yes” to a greater testimony.

So don’t waste your wilderness. Don’t miss the signs. And when you’re tempted to harden your heart because you don’t understand what God is doing, remember: He’s not just working on your story. He’s writing a testimony that others will need when they face their own Red Sea.

Devotional Prompts:

Where in your life are you experiencing what feels like God’s “hardening” situations that seem to be getting harder rather than easier despite your prayers? How might God be setting the stage for a greater display of His power?
Pharaoh’s magicians could imitate some of God’s signs but not all of them. What “counterfeits” in our culture mimic God’s work but lack His transformative power? How do we discern the difference?
How does the concept of God using human resistance for His ultimate purposes challenge or comfort you? What does this reveal about the relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility?
In what ways might your current resistance to God’s direction be costing you the joy of participation versus being used as an example? What would surrender look like in your specific situation?
How does understanding God’s “severe mercy” in Exodus change the way you interpret delays, difficulties, or denials in your own spiritual journey?

Prayer: Father, You are sovereign over every hardened heart and every unanswered prayer. When I don’t understand why resistance continues or why deliverance delays, anchor me in the truth that You are orchestrating a testimony greater than my temporary comfort. Give me the wisdom to surrender quickly and the faith to trust Your timing. Let my life declare Your glory through immediate obedience and patient endurance, so that others might see and believe. Amen.