2009 – Day 75.Mar. 17 – I Will Not Retreat

2009 – Day 75.Mar. 17 – I Will Not Retreat

Passage of the Day: Exodus 6: 13 … Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

My Journal for Today: Moses (and Aaron) had heard God’s command of deliverance for His people before; but things had not gone well in the execution of God’s plan up to the point of today’s passage. And so, as we read above, God forcefully reinstated His command to go forth to set His people free from over 400 years of bondage to Egypt.

Perhaps, like me, you can identify with the challenge to Moses’ faith at this point in the story. He knew what God had related and exhorted in the past; and I believe, at this point, Moses even had faith in God. However, it was a head faith; and it was likely that his head was also reeling with fleshly messages like, “This is not working. Pharaoh is so powerful; and his heart is too hardened against God’s plan; and Egypt is so much more powerful than I am.”

It is so easy to let human logic and temporal circumstances get in the way of believing - in our hearts as Christians - what we know to be God’s will. I think of the times when I’ve known that it is God’s will that all be saved. God’s word clearly says that our God desires that all repent and believe and be saved (I know it from passages like [links provided] 2nd Pet. 3: 9 or 1st Tim. 2: 3-4). And yet many times, I’ve hesitated when I’ve had the opportunity to share my faith with one I knew who was lost, balking in fear.

Moses knew - in his head - that God desired to save the Jews from bondage; and he knew – in his head – that God had set forth the plan of deliverance. But God also knew that Moses needed to get that head belief into a heart belief for God’s plan to go forth; and so, we see a very patient – but a very insistent – God laying out the plan again for Moses and his brother. But this time, God is getting more direct with His command for action.

Chuck Swindoll makes a clear and truthful declaration at the end of his devotional for this day from his book Great Days with the Great Lives. Swindoll paraphrases what God was saying to Moses. He writes as if God were speaking to Moses, “Because I am Who I am, I will do what is best for you.” And then Swindoll adds a powerful conclusion for us all, writing, “There isn’t a day on this side of eternity, no matter how grim, that can’t be improved by clinging to that reassuring thought.”

Do we, as God’s adopted children, … as Christians, really believe – in our hearts – that God will always do what is best for us? That is certainly God’s promise in Romans 8: 28, isn’t it? Well, if we believe that, we need to take up Christ’s challenge (quoted in Luke 9: 23) to deny our own feelings and fears, and to take up the crosses or challenges of life, and to simply follow our Lord without question or hesitation. That’s what God was saying to Moses in today’s highlight passage; and that is what God is saying to me today. How about you?

My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me in my unbelief !! Amen