The Law Of Undulation
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The things that you love… the things that you’re passionate about will naturally come up in your conversations. Right? Well, a couple of months ago, I was chatting with a guy… and we started talking about Jesus. And as we talked… this guy seemed to have a pretty good knowledge of the things of God… and so I came right out and asked him… So, do you know Christ? Do you have a relationship with him? And he confirmed to me that he indeed did.
And so, we continued to talk… and he shared that he has just been having some difficulty overcoming temptation. And so, I recommended a book to him. I actually, purchased the audio book for him and sent it to him. Has anyone here ever read “The Screwtape Letters” from C.S. Lewis?
The Screwtape Letters is a fictional account of an old, wise demon named Screwtape. And Screwtape is writing a series of letters to his young nephew Wormwood. And in these letters, Screwtape is instructing Wormwood on how to tempt the person that he’s been assigned to. If you’ve never read it, I encourage you to do so. It’s got some great insights into how our enemy comes at us… to tempt us… to attack us… to keep us away from the things of God.
One of the things that Screwtape tells Wormwood is about the law of undulation. He explains that all people experience the law of undulation in every area of their lives. The law of undulation is simply is this… a series of highs and lows… and these highs and lows are in every aspect of our lives.
Think about your relationships. Every relationship you have will go through a series of highs and lows. There are good times when you feel deeply connected to that other person… perhaps you’ve had a significant conversation together… spent some significant time together that brought you closer… and you just feel that that you’re on the same wavelength… you feel close to them.
But then, there are other times when you don’t feel that closeness. You haven’t spent enough time together… or perhaps you’ve spent too much time together or you’re irritated with that person. It’s the law of undulation in relationships.
But like I said… the law of undulation affects every area of our lives. If you’ve had children… and your kiddo has a big test at school that day… something they’re really not looking forward to… they don’t want to get out of bed that day… they want to sleep in! But… when there’s something they’re looking forward to… maybe a field trip at school… their birthday party… Christmas morning… buddy… they are up… jumping on your bed trying to get you to wake up! Let’s get this day moving! Right?! It’s the law of undulation.
Well… If we’re honest with ourselves… the law of undulation… having highs and lows… is true in our relationship with God as well. You’ve experienced this right? Those times when you feel like especially close to God. You feel worshipful… You feel thankful… You just can’t get enough of His Word… You can see Him working in your life and it just blows you away that the God of the universe knows your name and cares about you.
But then, there are other times that we feel like God is nowhere near us. You’re not really feeling His presence in your life… You don’t feel like you’re growing in your relationship with God… and you look around and think… God… are you even there? Are you doing anything in my life? And these times can lead to questions… and doubts.
This morning, we’re beginning a new series through the book of Exodus. If you have your Bible, and I hope that you do, turn with me to Exodus chapter 1. And right away, in Exodus chapter 1, we’re going to see that the nation of Israel has gone through the law of undulation themselves. Look at verse 1 with me.
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
Those verses don’t sound like a whole lot… just sounds like the Bible is naming some people of Israel… but those seven verses are an absolute high point of Israel. Things were going very well for them. God was blessing them tremendously! In these seven verses, Israel was experiencing a deep connection with God. And this makes perfect sense when we understand the beginning of Exodus in context of what came before… the book of Genesis. So, very briefly, let’s remind ourselves of the context.
Genesis chapter 12. God chooses a man named Abraham. And He says to Abraham… I’m going to bless you… I’m going to bless you with offspring that out numbers the stars in the sky… And you and your offspring will become a great nation and the world will be blessed through you. What a high point for Abraham that must’ve been!
And when Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were old, they had a son named Isaac… and then Isaac had a son named Jacob. And then Jacob had 12 sons. And understand, I’m simplifying this very heavily… there were a lot of ups and downs through this whole thing… but time and time again, through the highs and the lows, God keeps reiterating His promise… I will make you a great nation… I will make your descendants like the stars in the sky.
As Jacob’s 12 sons are growing up, one of them, Joseph, is sold into slavery and winds up in Egypt. Joseph ends up in a position of power and authority… working for the Pharoah there. Joseph begins preparing Egypt for a great famine that God told him was coming. And then… the famine hits the land… and it’s devastating. But because Joseph prepared the Pharaoh and Egypt… Egypt is in great shape! The Pharaoh is pleased… Joseph is the hero of the story.
In the meantime… God also intervenes and brings the rest of Jacob’s family to Egypt to save them. And during this famine, Egypt now becomes a safe haven for Israel. Egypt becomes a place of safety and security for Abraham’s family.
And that’s exactly where Exodus chapter 1 picks things up. Exodus chapter 1 is a continuation of the story. Look at verse 6 again.
Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
Do you see what’s happening here? They are experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham… that he would become a great nation… descendants like the stars in the sky… and it’s happening right here in Egypt. At this time, they are exclaiming… Yes… God is good! God has been faithful to His promise to our father Abraham. This is a high point for the nation of Israel. But things are about to change. Look at verse 8…
Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.
There’s a new King in Egypt… a new Pharaoh… and this Pharaoh doesn’t know Joseph. He doesn’t care about who Joseph was or what Joseph did. Joseph means absolutely nothing to this new Pharoah. In fact, this new Pharaoh sees Joseph’s family as a threat… and they’re a threat that needs to be dealt with. Look at verse 9…
“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Notice the dramatic change that has taken place and how low things have become for Israel. I can imagine Israelite moms telling the story to their children about how God brought them to Egypt to provide for them. I can hear them telling the story… There was a famine back home and our people were going to die… but God provided for us… God brought Joseph to Egypt… and through Joseph’s leadership, they built up and stored food… and God used that to save our people. We’re here in Egypt because of God’s provision… we’re here because of God’s protection.
But now… Everything has changed. There’s a new Pharaoh who turns them into slaves and treats them horribly… ruthlessly… back breaking slavery. And I can imagine the kids looking up at their moms and saying… Mom, I thought God brought us here to protect us? I thought God brought us here to save us? How can that be? We’re slaves. What’s going on? What is God doing? Is God even real?
But we’re not finished… Things actually gets worse. Look at verse 15…
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
Think about how low Israel must feel from God. Yes… God brought them to Egypt to save them… but man… it sure seems like God had forgotten about them. As if this ruthless slavery wasn’t enough… Now the Pharaoh declares a system of genocide. Kill every single baby boy. Pharoah is determined to end Abraham’s family. How is Israel going to respond to this new low? We really don’t have a lot of answers. The Bible simply tells us about two midwives… and how they respond. Verse 17…
The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
Here’s what we need to know about these midwives… One… They fear God over man. Yes… There’s a new Pharaoh… but these women know who the true King is. They fear their creator. They know that they must worship their Creator, and their Creator alone. They understand that their Creator is the only one worthy of worship and their obedience.
The second thing we need to know. Because they fear God over man… they reject Pharaoh’s order. These women respond in disobedience to man and obedience to God… EVEN THOUGH their people are at their lowest low and it seems like God isn’t even around. These women decide to trust and obey their Creator. And notice what happens… Verse 20…
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
What’s happening here? God’s promise is being fulfilled. God’s promise is being fulfilled in the darkest, nastiest hour of Israel’s history. There is an active genocide planned against them… Yet, God continues to be faithful to the promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will make you a great nation… numbered as the stars in the sky. In the midst of this dark hour… this terrible low in their history… God continues to work… God continues to be faithful to His promises.
We’re barely one page into the book of Exodus and we’re already seeing a lot of undulation going on in Israel. And this helps us today. This tells us something about how God works. This tells us something about the God we serve.
This tells us first and foremost… God is faithful to His promises. That’s really what Exodus chapter 1 is all about. There are times, like we saw in in the life of Israel, where things seem to be great… they feel close to God… they can see God working… they can see God moving… they can see God’s hand upon their lives. But there are other times… just like we saw with Israel… where God seems to be nowhere around… where God seems to be silent… He seems to be invisible… He seems to have removed Himself from our story.
But can I tell you… God’s faithfulness is not dependent upon what we see or feel. God’s faithfulness is not dependent upon our circumstance. In the midst of our deepest, darkest, nastiest lows… God is faithful to His promises. At all times… God is faithful.
We just went through the Passion week, and we spent quite a bit of time talking about how the disciples felt as they watched Jesus… their Messiah… be beaten and take the punishment of the cross. It was their lowest point. This one who was supposed to save us is being put to shame and being killed upon the cross. Little did they know… The whole time… God was keeping His promise. Jesus was being put to shame to take away our shame. Jesus was enduring the wrath of God upon the cross so that we may escape it. And now, because of that… God offers salvation for all people who believe in him. God is always faithful to His promises. God is always working. God is always moving.
Second… As your Pastor… I want you to realize that just like Israel… you too will experience low points in your relationship with God. You will experience the law of undulation. It would be naïve to think that Jesus followers will always feel an intimate connection with God… that Jesus followers are always on this high.
Yes… There are preachers that will tell you that… and usually, they’ll throw up a 1-800 number and a website and tell you that you need to give more money if you’re not experiencing the highs. But that’s not how this works.
In this broken world there are times when we intimately experience God… but there are times where we feel far away from God. Don’t be so naïve to think that you’re not going to have these low points. The question is… what do you do in the midst of them?
In the midst of your low points… Remember number 1… God is always faithful to His promises. Learn from the midwives in Exodus chapter 1. When you can’t see God moving in your life… When you begin to question and doubt… obey God anyway. Stay steadfast. Trust and obey God.
I want to leave you with this. In the Screwtape Letters, Lewis says that at these low points when we’re doubting… when we’re struggling… when we don’t feel the presence of God… we tend to pull away from God’s people because we don’t want anyone else to know that we’re struggling. We get embarrassed maybe… We don’t want to be vulnerable… and so we two steps back from God’s people and we try to go it alone. We think… I’m just going to pull up my bootstraps and get through it on my own.
Lewis explains… that’s music to Screwtape, the demon’s, ears. Because Screwtape knows that when we step back from God’s people… what we’re actually doing is stepping back from God. And so what Lewis encourages us to do in those dark and difficult times… even though we’re embarrassed… we come closer to God’s people. Why? Because… the way God works is through His people. Through God’s people is one of the biggest ways we experience God.
*Go Grab Guitar*
Regardless of where you are this morning. Whether you’re on a high… or whether you’re experiencing a deep low… it’s important that we join together as a community to acknowledge God’s faithfulness. To acknowledge that God’s ways are always perfect. They may not always make perfect sense to us… but that doesn’t mean God’s not moving. That doesn’t mean that God is not actively working in your life. So I want to encourage you to stand with me and sing the doxology to give praise to God for His faithfulness.
Of course… You are always welcome to come to an altar and pray… Just spend some moments praising God for His faithfulness.