Freedom For Today

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 7 before reading the devotional below.

Okay, can we just acknowledge (in case we weren’t tracking with the timeline) that Moses is an 80-year-old man at this point? Kind of a lot on his plate at the moment. In today’s chapter, God reveals more of the details of his plan, including the reason he is allowing his plan to seem like a failure at the outset. God wants to display his full power, which will only be possible after a good fight. Sure, he could take Pharaoh out easily on the first round, but his power will be on greater display if he battles it out for a bit.

We begin the description of the plagues, famous in children’s Bibles and kind of gross when you really think about it. But this is not merely a battle for God’s people to be set free. No, this battle is one over the very lordship and authority of God. Pharaoh had some spiritual power at his disposal too, with his sorcerers and magic. He was given a god-like status by virtue of his position. The plagues that follow connect with the supposed powers of the Egyptian gods, demonstrating to everyone that Israel’s god will out perform Egyptian gods any day of the week.

Here’s your freedom for today: when God fights the battle, he wins. Honestly, I don’t understand why I keep trying to fight my own battles. It’s really quite useless. I have the option to release every aspect of my life and let God run it. This freedom is the good news he offers. None of us are particularly fantastic at running our own lives, and God has offered to use his power on our behalf. He’s in your corner today. What battle can you step away from and let God fight for you?

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 6 before reading the devotional below. 

Recall from yesterday’s post that Moses was angry and accusing God of some pretty tough stuff. Today we hear God’s response: “Just wait until you see what I have coming…” God tells Moses to encourage the Israelites, reassuring them that God is in the midst of acting. But when you are currently being brutally oppressed in slavery, you may not respond enthusiastically to promises of things improving “someday.” Interestingly, Moses blames himself and his complete lack of speaking skills for the dismissal by the Israelites. He is still sure that God picked the wrong guy.

God does not get frustrated with Moses despite the ongoing complaints and angry prayers. He simply keeps giving out instructions one bit at a time. Moses is still looking for evidence that any of this is going to work, and given the fact that no one from either side is listening at all, he is pretty sure it isn’t. By the end of the chapter, he is still begging God to swap in an alternate.

Here’s your freedom for today: God sees you in the bigger picture. Did you notice that half of this chapter is taken up by a genealogy? Why are a bunch of names stuck in the middle of the story? God is reminding Moses of who he is: part of the tribe of people set apart to be intermediaries between God and his people. The Levites were the priests, and Moses and Aaron are on the list. God did not see Moses as a murderer or as a guy who couldn’t speak well. He saw him as part of a bigger story. Moses was born into a plan that was set in motion long before he arrived on the scene. Your life is so much bigger than you or what you can see around you. God knows exactly why you arrived on earth at this moment and place in time. His thoughts and ways and reasons are so much higher than we can imagine.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 5 before reading the devotional below. 

Today’s chapter begins with Moses carrying out God’s guaranteed-to-fail plan. Oh, did I mention that the plan not only fails, but also makes the entire situation worse? That’s right. As a result of Moses’ obedience to God, Pharaoh punishes his Jewish slaves even more harshly than he had before. But wait, it gets even worse. The Jewish foremen get so angry for the harsher conditions that they invoke the name of God against Moses and Aaron. They certainly are not thanking them for trying.

Moses pretty much loses it at this point. Have you ever prayed some angry prayers asking God, “What are you doing??” Moses doesn’t pull any punches. He accuses God of being “brutal” and says he’s “done nothing” to help the situation. He’s in a position he never wanted, experiencing failure he never thought was a good idea. Trusting God in a moment like that is a truly supernatural act.

Here’s your freedom for today: God is big enough for your doubts and fears. He’s even big enough for your anger. He knows what he’s doing even when you don’t and his all-knowing, all-powerful nature means he sees the bigger picture when you can’t. Moses’ struggles were not his own. They came to him because he stepped into one of God’s battles. Yahweh versus Pharaoh. God knows he will win, but he has his reasons for letting the battles drag out. The only options Moses had were to trust God or to quit. And quitting would turn out worse. In these moments, we pray helpless prayers and get mad if we need to. God will still be on the throne.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 4 before reading the devotional below. 

Moses goes down in history as one of the people that least wanted to do what God was asking of him. God’s attempts to prove that his power would be with Moses only freak him out more. Imagine you unsuspectingly go to look at a weird bush on fire. Then you start to hear God’s audible voice. Then that voice tells you to throw down your shepherd’s staff onto the ground and it turns into a snake. Yeah, I’d be even more freaked out at that point too. Moses’s response is a desperate one: “God send anyone else…” Thanks, but no thanks.

God agrees to send Moses’ biological brother Aaron with him, and this reassurance is what finally causes Moses to relent to obedience. When God finally gives him more details of the plan, it turns out that a significant part of the plan is Pharaoh refusing to cooperate. Wait, what?? Moses already did not want to do this job, which meant returning to a place he might be instantly killed for his past murder. Now God’s saying that Moses will fail repeatedly at convincing Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go.

Here’s your freedom for today: God’s plans for victory often seem like earthly failures. Pharaoh refusing to listen. King Saul spending years trying to kill David after God anointed him king. Elijah running for his life for years. Jesus dying as a common prisoner after a mob riot. Paul getting thrown in jail for spreading the Gospel. Earthly measures are simply not a good way to know if God is moving. God’s plans operate in a different realm, with moving parts we only barely can begin to understand. Self-reliance is so dangerous because we do not have all the information. Stop trying to make things work out. Step back and simply follow God’s ways when the moment of obedience comes.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 3 before reading the devotional below.

Sometimes God’s plans seem a little unbelievable. Imagine Moses, a murderer-on-the-run turned shepherd, thinking he was doomed to isolation in the wilderness, coming to the base of Mt. Sinai. It’s no wonder supernatural things started to happen — this would be the site of Moses’ most intense encounter with God in the future. Moses had no idea what his life would look like. Years had gone by since Moses had been in Egypt, and he never imagined that the most significant parts of his life were still ahead of him.

Moses heads over to check out an interesting sight: a bush on fire that is not burning up. All he was looking for in that moment was a fascinating spectacle, not a new life calling. And he wasn’t particularly eager to take it, but God’s offer was pretty promising. Moses’ motive for murder in the first place was the oppression of his people. A promise of rescue re-connected Moses with something he had carried in his heart for a long time.

Here’s your freedom for today: God connects your past and your future. Your life has themes and purposes that you will not fully realize until it is over. Things that God plants in your heart may stay dormant for years, only to be awakened at the moment of God’s choosing. He knows who you used to be and who you are becoming. He uses the present to shape you so that in a moment of calling you are ready. Moses was just walking along his path, not realizing he was at the site of one of the most significant places in his life and in the entire history of the world. You might also be walking by significant people and places that God will use in his timing. Trust him, he knows what he is doing.