Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. Moses raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials. He struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.

Psalm 145:3 tells us, “The LORD is great and certainly worthy of praise. No one can fathom his greatness.” When I read about the ten plagues that God inflicted on Egypt in order to get Pharaoh’s attention, it is somewhat surreal. It feels like it’s taking place in a fantasy novel. Only we know that these accounts are real!

The water turned to blood, frogs, lice, flies, locusts invade the land in swarms, diseased livestock, unhealable boils, hail, darkness, and even death. God was putting His almighty power on display. He demonstrates that He holds in His hand the power over all mankind, every aspect of nature, and every living thing.

Maybe the author of Psalm 77 had these great acts of God in mind when he wrote,

“You are the God who does amazing things; you have revealed your strength among the nations.”

Authentic Faith

In addition to the ten plagues, God also performed through Moses and Aaron several other signs and wonders. When Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, it became a snake! Indeed these were miracles, the very power of God on display, yet Pharah did not believe. Some people today think that if God did more miracles, more people would believe. But I think this story in the Old Testament about Pharaoh’s stubborn heart proves otherwise.

You see, authentic faith originates from something much deeper than seeing God perform miracles. Throughout the Bible, God did use miracles to prove His ultimate power. However, sometimes even His miracles are unmatched by the pride of the human heart. Sometimes we think we know better than God. We appeal to our own reason and find a natural cause or other source from which the miracle occurred.

Faith Is A Matter of the Heart

In Exodus 7:22-23, we read this about Pharoah, “But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and so Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron–just as the LORD had predicted. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay attention to this.“ Wow! All of these supernatural things happening right before his eyes, and yet he would not even take this to heart!

Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.” So faith is really a matter of the heart, not the miracles which we do or do not see. And any and every human heart can acknowledge and believe that God is who He says He is by faith. I want to leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs from my teen years,

In time, we will see Him coming

But till then we’ll keep our hands to the plow

Seeking the face only faith can see

I pray hoping for a future

But I live in the fiery furnace here and now

And I cry, Lord, deliver me

But if I never see a miracle

If I never see the dead raised up

If I never see the kingdom come

I won’t stop believing

If I Never See a Miracle by Morgan Cryar

May God grant us the faith this week to believe that He is who He says He is. May He help us to walk by faith and not by sight. When we become proud, may He graciously reveal our pride and restore us so that we can act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with our God.