I tend to seek security in things other than God.
I often find security in friendships that I think will provide me the love I need.
And I hang on to stuff that I am emotionally attached to.
But, in reality, neither friendships nor material things can save me from the mess and the chaos of life.
Only God can do that.
Recognizing that God is clearly greater is the theme of Sunday’s Sermon on August 24, 2025, entitled “Swallow Your Pride,” which focuses on Pharaoh’s shortcomings in the scripture of Exodus, Chapter 7:8-13.
Moses and Aaron visit Pharaoh’s palace a second time, and they prove God’s power by showing how Aaron’s staff can turn into a river monster.
When Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers turn their staffs into river monsters as well, Aaron’s beast swallows up all the other beasts.
Moses is, in effect, saying, “My God can beat up your gods.”
Pharaoh, unimpressed, hardens his heart and refuses to let the Israelites go.
The sermon clearly explains how we can be just like Pharaoh when we do several things to harden our own hearts.
The first way we can be like Pharaoh is to say, “I can experience God’s greatness and still dismiss it.” A bad recipe is to not fear God but to fear the plans of men. We should beware of a stubborn heart like Pharaoh’s.
There is no question of God’s greatness when Moses’ serpent gobbles up all the other serpents, but Pharaoh dismisses God’s great power as commonplace. I can do the same thing if I don’t soften my heart often and routinely to break down the hardened core it has become.
The second way we can be like Pharaoh is to say, “I can summon lesser power and be satisfied.”
When we go to self-help, money, relationships, our stuff, or busyness for security, we substitute God’s counsel with things that really can’t sustain us.
We find other ways to seek security instead of going to God, who offers us real peace, not temporary satisfaction.
When we feel secure in our own stuff, we dismiss God’s provision. When we seek our own wisdom, we dismiss God’s sovereignty.
The third way we can be like Pharaoh is to say, “I can double down in stubbornness.”
If we continue to harden our hearts like Pharaoh, we will not hear God.
This kind of behavior shows us how blind we are when we try to do things in our own power.
I can relate to this kind of hard heart. God was calling me to submit to my parents in my early 20s, and I definitely doubled down in stubbornness. He disciplined me harshly for it, and I had to learn the hard way of the error of my ways.
Finally, our main goal needs to be recognizing God’s greatness in Christ Jesus.
When we offer ourselves in humility to Christ, admitting our sin, we can experience His grace and mercy.
Jesus got swallowed up by death in our place on our behalf so we can go to God with confidence.
God’s greatness is greater than the guilt of our sin.
And I need to worship Him for it, recognizing that He is God over all.
When I recognize that God is over all things, I can at least try to trust that He is greater at taking care of me than I am.
He knows best, and He is enough.
—Ann Elizabeth Yeager