January 23
Today's Reading: Exodus 7; Matthew 15:1-20
Today's Thoughts: Called to a Purpose
"I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow." Exodus 8:23
Have you ever found yourself in a situation wondering how you got there? You feel as if you just woke up to find yourself in a strange place. Or maybe you feel like you are in the midst of a bad dream wishing you could wake up and start over. I wonder if Moses felt this way right after his first visit to Pharaoh.
Moses had already told the Lord more than once that he was not equipped for this job. Who is he to demand Pharaoh to let these people go? He is slow in speech, has a slow tongue, and by the way, he is 80 years old. Maybe God should choose someone else, someone younger and more qualified. So, God gives Moses a helper - his older brother Aaron. Now there are two old men set apart as the deliverers of Israel. Sometimes I really think the Lord has a sense of humor.
Moses did not need any help outside of God, nor do we. But God is gracious enough to give us those things that bring physical and emotional comfort. But even with support, at times we all feel a little, if not a lot, overwhelmed with our circumstances. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient because His strength is made perfect in our weakness. God gets the glory when He works for us and through us in situations that are impossible to us.
As Moses and Aaron walked away from their first meeting with Pharaoh, they must have felt a host of emotions: fear, doubt and confusion to name a few. Even though Moses had spoken personally to the Lord God Almighty and knew that he was carrying out God's commands, how hard the situation must have been for him. We tend to read these accounts in the Bible and think that these people were more special or had some extra power from God. But in reality, these people are discussed in the Bible to demonstrate to us that the Lord uses people just as they are, not just back then, but today as well.
We need to understand that as believers we are all called for a purpose that was long ago determined by God. The Bible tells us that God knows all things, from the beginning to the end, and is in control over everything that happens. But we must also realize that God's ways are not our ways and that His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Instead of saying to God, "Who, me? Why me, Lord?" remember Moses and pray that you can be as humble, faithful and obedient as he was. If He has called you to a task, He will give you the strength to endure to the end.
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