S = Exodus 3:7-12 “Then the Lord said, “I
have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard
their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and
I have come down to deliver them out of
the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them
up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey… And
now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have
also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will
send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out
of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I
that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He said, “But I will be with you…”
O = God was not impervious
to the sufferings of his people. I notice the poetic layers of connection with
which God speaks to Moses. “I have surely seen the affliction of my
people…I have heard their cry…I know their sufferings…” If God had seen, heard and known them then is
it a stretch to trust that he knows what we are going through today? Not at
all! But what I love about this passage is that God doesn’t just see, hear, and
know their suffering, He is resolved to do something about it, “I have come down to deliver them.” I
also note that part of his doing something is to send a man, Moses, as an instrument
of deliverance. Moses didn’t want to go. His, “Who am I that I should go?” is a
question that many Christians ask when God calls us to do something about
injustice in the world today. If I had to paraphrase God’s answer to Moses it
would be, “It’s not about who you are…but about who is with you. I AM with you.”
Remember last week’s passage from Genesis 12:1-3? In these chapter of Exodus God
brings tremendous power to bear on Pharaoh and Egypt because of their
persecution of Abraham’s descendants.
A = Do I need to
have eyes to see what God sees and an ear to hear what he hears, or do I just
need to have an available heart to respond when he sends me? I love the imagery
in song about seeing the way God sees…but I think it would simply overwhelm me…blowing
my heart and mind away with the sheer volume and intensity of the need that
exists. I think that I would do better to aspire to simply listen to God’s call
and commission on my life today, remembering that God is not asking because I
am awesome, but because he wants to give me the privilege of participating in
his awesome plan…to set people free.
P = O Lord, what
are you asking me to do today that I have been resisting? I know that I am
inadequate to the task…but perhaps that is what you have been doing in my life;
showing me that it is not about my strength. So what is it that you have been preparing
me to trust you for? How do you desire to involve me in your work this week?
Let me hear your voice by the Word and the Spirit, and let me not turn away in
fear, lag behind in laziness, dictate the terms in arrogance, or walk away in
weariness. May I be enlightened by your wisdom, empowered by your Spirit, and
emboldened by your love. May your name be glorified in my responses this week. Amen.
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