The life of Moses has been a source of inspiration and guidance to me these past couple of years. At key times in my life, Holy Spirit has revealed something important to me through his life. There’s so much we can learn from Moses' life and walk with God. For hundreds of years following his life, Jewish men and women as well would look to his life for examples of Godly living. We're certainly not meant to forget his existence just because we're not under the law he wrote!
At the ripe age of 80, after 40 years of living as a prince, and 40 years as a shepherd, God draws Moses into meeting with him, and after Moses turns aside to accept the invitation, God begins to speak. He acknowledges the pain and suffering of his people and reveals his precise plan to rescue them. God says that he will send Moses to Pharaoh to deliver the news of deliverance (Exodus 3:10). Moses response to God is so relatable. He basically says, “Me, you want Me to go?” (my interpretation). Think of the weight of the task just given him. The enormity of it. The amount of people to free! The force of the Egyptian army. The strength of the will of the people, the emotions of the people, the stubbornness of the will and temperament of Pharaoh. God says to Moses, “But I will be with you. And this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (12). God could’ve said anything here. He could have said: Moses, you’re amazing, Moses, don’t be so hard on yourself, you are kind, strong, important! He could have said: I will DO amazing miracles and Moses, you're gonna see me do some wild amazing things!!! But he said, I will be with you. This word, WITH, in Hebrew means accompanying, besides, alongside, at the same time. In other words, when you need something, it will be given, if you lack something in and of yourself, I will supply it. Everything you need will be given in the moment you need it, all from God. God’s company and nearness is greater than any ability of our own or anything we can bring to the table. God’s presence is sufficient for such a task. God’s presence is greater than the size and force of Egypt and a stubborn king. And guess what---it's also a reward. It's a delight and pleasure that our Father should be with us. It's friggen awesome. Any objection, any argument, or naysaying thought against God’s commission can be answered with this one statement: He will be with you. As God leads you to something, His presence supplies all things good. God further assures Moses saying he will give him a sign, but that sign won’t come until after Moses steps out in obedience and finishes the task. And during the whole fiasco, plague after plague, Moses and God did not meet face to face like they did that day on the mountain. Yet, from the beginning God told Moses that “when [he] has brought the people out of Egypt, [he] shall worship God on [that] mountain” (3:12). They would meet again. God seals his word with a promise of meeting Moses intimately once more. God’s sign to his servant was his own presence and being together. And this is the same promise given us by Jesus. In the Great Commission He says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28: 18-20). Again, God gives the command to 'go' and in the same breath he offers the hope and promise of his own presence and company as provision, guarantee, and comfort. This time though, because of the work done on the cross, the meaning of 'with' is more surrounding, on all sides. How beautiful it is to accept an invitation and commission from our God and Friend with the delight of knowing we get to be so near to Him in every way. It was always the plan to be with Jesus and bring his presence to all.
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For the most part we know that we can have freedom in Christ. But, what does that mean? I am learning this in a new way. Psalm 40, a Psalm of King David, describes it for us.
Verses 1-2 tell us that David waited patiently for the LORD, God turned to him, and he heard David. This alone is a comfort, to know that God turns towards us in the midst of uncertainty and waiting to listen when we cry out to Him. Then, it says that God drew David out from the pit of destruction and set his feet upon a rock. God allowed David not to be destroyed by the circumstance he faced; rather, God brought him to a place of security as he waited on Him. Verse 3 tells us that this produced praise and worship in David, allowing others to also see God and praise Him! How sweet! Verse 4 says, "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!" When we patiently wait on God, it requires us to trust Him, but this is a worthwhile process. In the midst of it, we get to see the wonderful works of God on our behalf, showing us that in no way can our works produce the same results. Verse 6 mentions this idea when David states the futility of sacrifice and offering in adding to God's delight towards us. Later we see the same sentiment echoed by the prophet Hosea and Jesus Himself. Hosea says, "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (6:6). Jesus says, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice' (Matt 9:13). Mercy and steadfast love have similar meanings here. What a joy to walk in the reality that God delights to listen to us and turn towards us even when we can do nothing to be justified by Him, than have the faith to turn to Him. Knowing Him is our reward. Being met with the listening ear of the Father as we cry out to Him, and seeing Him move mightily on our behalf when we can do nothing, produces in us the security that all will be well. The character of God enables us to be free to do His will without carrying the burden that the results are in our hands. This is true freedom: to trust in the lovingkindness of God by allowing our circumstances to be under His control. Praise Him! Something I have struggled with over the past few months is the idea that all of my success depends on me. While it's true that we can't expect not to work or provide any effort and still see results, there is a weight we bear and a pressure that can weigh heavy on a person who puts all of the emphasis on themselves as the source of their own success. It can be debilitating.
Jesus is teaching me what he means when he says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat. 11:29-30, ESV). As life goes on and changes happen, I find my heart wanting rely on itself at times. Holy Spirit is so faithful, He won't let this happen as I humble myself before Him. He reminds me of His will, His ways, and His heart towards me. In the context of discussing single versus married life, Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians writes that he wants us to be free from anxieties or unnecessary cares (7:32) because time as we know is limited. He reminds of where we should place our care and or our burden in life. As a single person, we have less anxiety to please anyone who isn't Jesus. In fact, dare I say, according to these verses, single people have no burden to please anyone except Jesus. Um.....this is opposite to what the world and culture would tell us. Often as a single person, we're told that we have to put our family's desires or wishes above our own because we're not married and have more availability to do so. But, actually, it's this time more than ever, as single people we have freedom from family expectations to the serve the Lord how he wills above what our family wills. If our devotion to our family rather than the Lord is off, it could lead to pressure on oneself as the source of goodness, rather than on the Lord because this mindset operates on the supposition that I have the power to meet needs and bring good. You end up subconsciously saying to yourself, because I am devoted to my family, I must meet their needs and please them. Whereas, we should be saying, I am devoted to Lord, so I will seek Him on how to care for my family while He provides their needs. We need to know that our yoke is easy because our devotion is wholly, holy, unto God. So, we surrender our efforts and our cares, acknowledging His power is more than anything we could provide, and we come under His great care. For many years of my life, Christmas was special because it was a hugely celebrated by everyone around me, it was tradition, even after I became a Christian. It wasn't actually until the last few years of my life when I began intentionally sharing the gospel with my friends in Asia and inviting them to celebrate it with me, that I truly began to appreciate the deep beauty of this season.
It is an appointed time to reflect on the glory and wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that if we don't do this, we are truly missing out on the best part of Christmas. I have recently begun a study of scripture exploring the coming of Jesus into the world at first through his birth and one day soon. During this study I was reading Genesis 3, detailing the fall of Adam of Eve. The serpent sows seeds of doubt and causes Adam & Eve to question God's goodness. As Adam watches, Eve eats of the forbidden tree, then offers him a piece which he accepts and eats also. God knew what happened, and yet he comes and speaks gently to them. And after He reveals the consequences of their actions, which are hugely devastating, He does something quite incredible: "The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them" (21). God Himself constructs garments for the people who are ashamed to be naked because of their own mistake. He covers their shame and the deepest hurt of their heart by providing for them from His own hands. We often try to understand God by comparing Him to what we know, by our own frame of reference. Who do you know who does this? Who do you know is capable of after being immensely betrayed by loved ones can both be fair and lavishly generous? And might I add, making an effort to not only preserve the relationship, but deepen it? I know no other. God is like no other. This time of the year is a sweet time to ponder God's otherness; his supernatural goodness. He is not a natural being, but one of Spirit (John 4:24), a supernatural God. He demonstrates that in the coming of His son to the Earth in a body of flesh, yet still fully God, to die and defeat death so that we could go from natural beings to spiritual, knowing Him. And He lavishes his Spirit upon those He loves (Luke 11:13). Ask the Father to open your eyes to His generous, Fatherly love. And may you be blessed this Advent and Christmas season! Have you ever met someone and immediately clicked with them? I'm not talking romantically. I'm talking about in friendship with community members, co-workers, mutual friends, people like this.
I don't know about you, but when I meet someone who I immediately click with I'll say, "Those are my people!" You know what I'm sayin'?! Your people are those people who get you and you get them. But not only this, there's also a mutual admiration and awe of each others' character; of just who they are. It's like you just want to spend a lot of time with that person and you're not exactly sure why. You just love being around them, you love their presence, you just want to be with them! Maybe you find yourself just randomly wanting to talk to these people for no reason or SUPER excited when you know you're going to see them. Do you have people like this in your life? I hope you do! These people are absolute gifts and treasures. These are the people that out of everyone in your community you may like and love, there's something about these people you would choose to spend all of your time with if possible. And well, the other day, Holy Spirit led me to the scripture Isaiah 51. It's a beautiful word to Israel during a tumultuous time. God is really wanting to get His people's attention here. He says, "Listen to me, Give attention to me, and again, Listen to me" (vs. 1, 4, 7). He starts describing Himself to them and He says this, (Take your time to read this! Soak in every word) "I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are my people'" (15-16). God says you are His people!!!!!!! God loves being around you. God enjoys talking with you. God thinks you're really cool. God chooses to hang out with you because He genuinely enjoys your company. God loves that you're His friend. He loves you. He looks forward to spending quality time with you. Even if you're not doing anything together, He delights to sit with you. He chose you long before the world existed, even before you had a chance to prove yourself. He has chosen you, it's done. How have you experienced God's delight in you? Recently as I was reflecting on the tragic death of my sister's boyfriend that happened over 2 years ago, I was thinking how lonely the process of grief could be. In our loss, there's a reality that our individual experience of it could differ so much even from someone who might know us so well or be experiencing the same loss. My sister and I are best friends and we know almost everything about each other - but, I haven't experienced what she has. As much as I can be there for her, our experience of a loss could be totally different even if we've lost the same person. That could be extremely lonely.
However, hope began to rise within my heart so strongly when the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus is "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3, ESV). There might be no one on Earth who can truly empathize with a loss, except Jesus. That is not a hopeless existence! What if we allow our deepest pain to be our deepest connection with Jesus? In all of human history, no one has felt or experienced more pain and loss than Jesus. These tragedies can become beautiful treasures when if nothing else has amounted from them other than a deeper knowledge our Lord, we have surely gained the richest treasure. This is not easy, as it requires us to slow down and open ourselves up to Him. But, the effects of being fully known and fully knowing our God are astronomical: safety, well-being, total joy, and peace. In fact, what if this is why Jesus is known as the "Prince of Peace"? Because through his suffering he establishes a way forever to know totally and be totally known by our Creator? This is peace, is it not? So many scriptures mention God's plan for establishing a "covenant of peace" with people. A couple in particular stand out to me: Ezekiel 37:26-27 and Colossians 1:19-20. We see in these scriptures God as the initiator and enactor of this covenant. He has a plan to establish peace, He sees through the means by which to accomplish it, and actually does it. King David as an ancestor of Jesus experienced countless tragedy in his life and yet we see the song of his heart come through in the psalms as he comes to know richly the heart of God as a refuge and safe place. And later when Jesus comes, we see that He doesn't use the same ways as those that had previously been used (see Hebrews 10:4), He uses His own blood; that sounds pretty permanent to me. And everyday we get to walk in that wholeness which comes from being wholly known by our God. Our tragedies can become treasures forever under the covenant of peace established by His blood. Thank you, God! How has He done this in your life? |
AuthorEmily MacLaren |