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Exodus 5:20-23 ESV

20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;  21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”  22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?  23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

Exodus 6:1-9 ESV

1 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”  2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.  3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.  4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.  5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.  6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'”  9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

I. THE DEATH BLOW OF DISAPPOINTMENT (4:31, 5:20-23)
A. Disappointment is always the result of dashed hopes and dreams.
B. In disappointment, the temptation is to assume God has forgotten you because He feels silent.

II. THE BLAME GAME OF DISAPPOINTMENT (20-23)
A. 2 common but unhelpful and unholy responses to disappointment:
1. To blame others, especially our spiritual leaders.
2. To blame God. 

III. THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH DISAPPOINTMENT (6:1-9)
A. We need to come to grips with our humanity and God’s deity.
B. We need to fight our tendency towards doubt and forgetfulness. (John 15:18-20)
C. We need to read the Bible honestly. (Luke 7:18-23, Isaiah 61:1)

NEXT STEP
What do we do, and where do we turn in life’s most disappointing moments?
1. First, we turn to God’s people.
2. Second, we treasure God’s person and presence.
3. Third, we trust God’s promises and tell ourselves constantly about the cross. (Exodus 19:4, Isaiah 40:28-31, 1-2)

NEXT WEEK: Exodus 6:1-13Response: Hearing & Heeding God & Overcoming Hardheartedness