And the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses. – Ex 9:12
Moses is asking Pharaoh to let Israel go. God hardens his heart. A plague comes. Repeat – again, and again.
Why would God keep hardening Pharaoh’s heart? Why not just get Israel out? Because God is setting it all up for the future. By the time the plagues end, the Egyptians are so happy to be rid of Israel that they bless them on the way out – they give them valuable and don’t protest their leaving. They are happy that their slave force is leaving. What Israel thought was a set back was actually a set up.
God knows what he is doing and he sets things up for the future. That is a good word to remember if you continue to get frustrated at the things around you. It is hard to be patient, but it could be that God is setting things up for your future.
Your set back could be God’s set up.