When God Won't Budge

Date: Monday, February 2, 2026

Pharaoh’s got a frog problem. Not just one or two hoppers in the palace fountain. We’re talking about an amphibian apocalypse. They’re in his bed, his food, his ovens. Everywhere. And here’s the kicker: Pharaoh’s magicians can replicate the plague, but they can’t stop it. They can make the problem worse, but they’re powerless to actually solve anything.

Sound familiar? How often do we double down on our own solutions, our own wisdom, our own control, only to realize we’re just making more frogs? Pharaoh’s real issue isn’t the frogs. It’s his refusal to surrender to God’s authority. He’d rather negotiate with a plague than submit to the God who controls it.

Moses doesn’t beg. He doesn’t bargain. He simply delivers God’s message and waits. Because God’s purposes don’t require Pharaoh’s cooperation. They’ll happen either through his obedience or over his resistance. Every plague is simultaneously an invitation to repent and a revelation of God’s supremacy over Egypt’s gods.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: God will accomplish His deliverance whether we’re obstinate or obedient. But our posture determines whether we experience Him as rescuer or as the unstoppable force we tried to resist. Pharaoh’s hardened heart didn’t stop the Exodus, it just made him collateral damage in someone else’s liberation story.

The question isn’t whether God will move. It’s whether we’ll move with Him or get moved by Him.

Devotional Prompts:

Where in your life are you replicating problems instead of surrendering them? What “frogs” have you created by trying to maintain control?
Pharaoh kept asking Moses to remove the plagues without actually submitting to God. How do you sometimes seek relief from consequences while avoiding true repentance?
God’s patience with Pharaoh had a purpose: the deliverance of His people. How does remembering that your story intersects with others’ freedom change your perspective on seasons of resistance?
The magicians could imitate but not eliminate. What counterfeits are you trusting that look powerful but can’t actually save you?

Prayer: Lord, expose the kingdoms in my heart that refuse Your rule. I confess the ways I’ve negotiated with consequences while resisting surrender. Give me the wisdom to recognize when I’m replicating problems through my own strength, and the humility to submit to Your unstoppable purposes. Make me part of someone’s liberation story, not an obstacle to it. Amen.