Tension

I’m reading through the book of Exodus in my devotions now. I always forget how much I love this book of the Bible! Exodus 3 and 4 are probably some of my favorite passages of Scripture.

I love the way God shares so much of Himself with Moses in these two chapters. This is the first time Moses meets Yahweh, and God’s introduction of Himself is amazing! Over the course of the chapter, God spells out the tension between His person and His purpose and how that looks in the lives of people. Not only does He reveal to Moses— and to us— that He is holy and that He is alive, but that He sees the pain of His own people. In those days Israel was a dream, not a nation. They hadn’t even imagined the plan God had for them; all they knew was the affliction and pain they experienced under the brutal hand of Pharaoh.
God said to Moses, “I have surely seen. I have heard. I know. And I am come down to deliver.” That’s the tension that doesn’t always make sense— the simultaneous presence of affliction and the God who knows all about it.

There isn’t always an end in sight or a visible purpose. Sometimes we can’t even tell that God is there. But, as God showed to Moses, He is there, He is with us, and we have His promises. He told Moses as well, “I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders…” God’s purpose is always bigger than our trial. And He knows all about it. And He is there with us— as the Lord of Israel come down to deliver, as Jesus on a fishing boat tossed on the waves… as the Spirit in my heart whispering “Peace, be still.” These aren’t easy answers or solutions to problems. But the truths in Exodus 3-4 fortify our souls with grace and peace, even as we hold our breaths and wait to see how our unique circumstances will turn out.