Are you driven by an Invisible Taskmaster or Walking with Your Tender Shepherd? (Work Pt.4)
A lot of my life I’ve felt like I’ve had Pharaoh on my shoulder with his whip cracking, driving me on to do more and more. However, my heart hasn’t just been driven by the invisible whip, but by the pervasive fear that whatever I do is never good enough. Does this sound familiar to you? Let’s explore Exodus 1:8-14 where the first mention of “taskmaster” shows up in the Bible. It will expose the real source of this invisible pressure brought on by the heavy burden of being driven rather than gently led and endowed with the peace our Good Shepherd imparts.
Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply and in event of a war, they also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us, and depart from the land.” So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. And the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labors which they rigorously imposed on them.” (NASB1995)
First off, notice that Pharaoh is driven by fear and suspicion and he casts onto the future what his imagination fears could happen. (I wonder who whispered those fears into his heart?) So what did he do? He “appointed taskmasters over [the Israelites] to afflict them with hard labor.” Did you note that “afflicted” shows up twice in the passage and then those words “rigorously imposed on them” and “compelled [them]….to labor rigorously” stand out as well. They sound like the all too familiar internal enemy in my life compelling me to overdo, be over responsible or crumble under criticism when all my best doing still doesn’t measure up. Can you relate?
I know that work is a gift from the Lord and that doing good works show that God is present and shining through our lives. I know that being motivated to work hard and do all that we do unto the Lord is a good and healthy thing. I also know that different seasons in life may require a lot more hard labor than others. However, I do not believe that the Lord was behind Pharaoh’s harsh demands, or his rigorous, over-the-top workload, which means there is a spiritual dimension in the battle over work, which we should pay attention to. When we look into the Exodus story a little more closely, we read this account from God’s point of view in Exodus chapter six:
“Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the sons 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 their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’” So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage. Exodus 6:5-9 (NASB1995)
This passage reveals a lot! Let’s look at the ways that God reveals His character in these few short verses. He shares with His people who were in bondage that He hears their groanings. He hears their heavy sighs and their cries in their exhaustion, as well as their cries that what is being imposed upon them is unfair. (For we know that the LORD also saw how Pharaoh had commanded the children of Israel to make the same number of bricks in the same timeframe but had doubled their work by making them go and cut their own straw, as well. Of course, God also heard the harsh, shaming way of Egypt’s new Pharaoh as he demeaned the sons of Israel calling them lazy and doing all he could to keep them from worshiping their God.) God says several times in this passage that He sees their bondage (aka their imprisonment) and their heavy burdens, which He would deliver them from and bring them out from under. Because of these descriptions of the cruel bondage that Pharaoh was imposing, and God’s heart of compassion to act on behalf of His people to dramatically set them free, I cannot help but see the darkness of the spiritual principalities and powers spurring on the oppression. It is just like the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” describes:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
In fact, in verse nine of Exodus six, we read that the Israelites were so despondent (crushed in spirit and feeling hopeless) because of the cruel bondage they were under that they did not listen to Moses’ declaration from God of His upcoming deliverance. Their bondage and downcast feelings made them deaf at the time to the good news being preached to them. If you’ve ever felt that way, cry out to the Lord and get into His Word. Ask Him to help you hear His voice over the drone of depression. Ask Him to send forth His light into your heart. That is where the battle is won—in your and my heart and mind!
I’ve never been in the kind of harsh situation that the Israelites faced in Egypt or that so many impoverished people face, but I have been in bondage to oppressive lies and see many parallels. I’ve been in bondage to the lie of perfectionism and have been helped greatly by books like Dr. Seamand’s Freedom from the Performance Trap. I’ve felt the stinging whip of believing there was something wrong with me or that I wasn’t worth much when I have taken the anger, irritability or criticism of others to heart and turned against myself. Sometimes I think we are our own worst enemy because we are the ones who too often believe the false messages that Satan loves to send our way wrapped in a zillion ugly packages.
But this is where the good news of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, shines again. He reveals His heart to us in Matthew 11:28-30 by saying, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”(NASB1995) Wow! Isn’t that great news! The One who really matters is “gentle and humble in heart.” He calls us to Himself. And we can come to Him right now, even if our lives are hard externally, even if He doesn’t yet provide us with some great exodus—He is always, always by our side to help us. He is our soul’s rest and He is the One whose help and lack of insane pressure offers us an easy and light burden in place of the one that makes us weary and heavy-laden. Spending time with Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, and Good, Faithful Master, is always the most refreshing place to turn. He is the One who imparts His peace to our hearts—His peace that passes all understanding. I highly recommend Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly, to find more balm for your souls.
Notice the extreme contrast between what God sent His Son into the world to do and what Satan, the ultimate taskmaster and enslaver has set his evil heart on doing. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to save and redeem us, to give us an eternal hope and to walk with us lovingly everyday of our lives when we welcome Him in. Have you taken the time to welcome Jesus Christ into your life to be your true, wonderful Master and Lord? Have you repented toward God and put your faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 20:21)? If not, please stop and pray now! If so then listen to these promises for the Child of God.
The end of all thinks is at hand; therefore be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift (from God) employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves , let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(1 Peter 4:7-11 NASB1995)
The passage goes on with other strong encouragement for believers in Christ who are going through “fiery ordeals”, so I encourage you to open your Bibles and check it out! To recap though, I want to encourage you to let Jesus bring His healing balm to soothe your soul and mind and help you see why you might be giving into the taskmaster’s oppressive demands by pushing yourself to be driven rather than gently led. Recognize that there very well may be a sinister spiritual source that you need to turn to Ephesian 6:5-18 or James 4 and 5 to learn how to deal with God’s way. Always remember that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” or another translation says, “abundantly available for help in tight places”.
Lastly, as we find deliverance spiritually and mentally from being under that harsh taskmaster and start walking hand in hand with our gentle Good Shepherd, let’s take time to look outward, beyond our problems. Take time to hear the cries of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, in the Congo, in Syria, in Iran, in China and North Korea and in other places where Satan’s Pharaoh’s still rule cruelly, being bound up by lies from the evil one. We have to remember that just as God heard the groanings of the Israelites in Egypt, He still hears the heart shaking cries of people everywhere. I believe with all my heart that the Creator of the Universe, the God of the Bible, the Great I AM, who revealed Himself to Moses and to Israel, does not change! He is the same God, yesterday, today and forever. He still delivers and He still desires to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He is still all about bringing forth justice and righteousness and mercy.
I also believe that His church is vital to His mission and that we are to be preaching the Kingdom of our King, Jesus. We are to be weeping for the oppressed and for the persecuted church. We are to be interceding as individuals and together. We are not to close our eyes to the poor and oppressed on this earth. Please join me in doing these two things: 1) Lets listen to our Shepherd’s voice and His appraisal of us, so we don’t let the lies of our own impossible expectations or those of another control us. 2) Let’s intercede and do what is in our power to alleviate the suffering of others by choosing to follow Jesus’ command to love one another. We will become more and more free, and so will those whom Jesus is still seeking to reach and help! Walking with our tender Shepherd will lead us beside quiet waters, green pastures and along those incredible paths of righteousness! (Psalm 23) I can’t wait to see more and more lives transformed, and more and more of Jesus’ life in me springing up new! How about you?
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Road photo:
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Photo Credit:
Martijn Vonk (@vonkm737) | Unsplash Photo Community
Shepherd Photo Credit:
