I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them…. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 6:3, 14:31, ESV)
Around mid-October in the United States, a modern-day exodus (a going out, departure or emigration) begins when the snowbirds migrate south for warmer weather. While the winter days of leisure fill with golf, tennis, and social gatherings, the rhythms of life linger in the shadows. Death comes and life is birthed. Doubts linger and faith remembers. Sorrow hovers and hope persuades. Fear descends and love prevails.
These rhythms of life sift us in ways that leave us asking, “Does God really exist?” While this is the question we wrestle with, it is not a question the Hebrew people who suffered under the heavy hand of Pharaoh wondered about. The question they asked was, “Which God do we serve?”
Jesus is reaching for your hand to walk with you through the rhythms of life.The oral traditions about the God Almighty who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob passed from one generation to the next, but God as LORD had not been passed down because God had not made himself known in this way yet, not even to the patriarchs. Still, God placed his people right in the middle of a culture that worshipped more than a thousand different deities. How would they know to call upon him? But they did. When the people of Israel cried out for relief from their oppression, “their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God” (Exodus 2:23).
In reply, God remembered his covenant and put into motion a plot where the Hebrews had a front row seat watching his redeeming love in action. As each plague brought a layer of destruction upon the Egyptians, the Hebrews remained untouched. And then the God who saw them and knew them, the LORD, led them through the sea on dry ground while death swallowed the Egyptians.
It really is a dramatic story. A story of death, doubt, sorrow, darkness, and fear. A story of suffering and confusion. A story of redemption. A story where the people of Israel met the LORD, Jehovah—the existing One.
Now when the people heard the Egyptians coming like thunder, they cried out, not to God Almighty, but to the LORD. Moses said, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:14). By faith, the people responded and stepped into the sea where the towering walls of roaring water surrounded them. The LORD walked with them and when they reached the other side, “they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31).
Our stories may or may not be as dramatic as the one the Israelites experienced, but like them, we do have a story that needs to be redeemed by the LORD. Where are you on your exodus journey? In the slave camp, watching the plagues, in the wilderness, or on the dry ground? The LORD has made himself known through Jesus… and Jesus, who sees you and knows you, is reaching for your hand to walk with you through the rhythms of life.
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Tracy Hanson
November 9, 2017
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.