Focus

Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.

Read

Exodus 6:2-9 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

God also spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.  I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The Lord’ I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.

Reflect

God, what are you doing? Where are you? How long, O Lord? For me, these questions have occurred when I have found myself stuck in a difficult situation that I’ve been in for a while. I’m sure you’ve experienced the same. These questions tend to pop up as our strength gives out. As our strength gives out, we grow impatient with God. As our patience wears thin, so can our hope and trust in God wear thin. When you cry out over and over for God to deliver you out of whatever dark circumstance overwhelms you, you anxiously wait to see how God will respond. However, after so long without any deliverance, it’s easy to give up and just stop crying out altogether. And, surely that’s a temptation we face in difficult trials.

I imagine this was the case for the enslaved Israelites. But here in this text, the Israelites get a response: a promise from God. Look at God’s initiative here! God shares this promise with Moses and lays claim to them. In this message, they are reminded of who God is and how God has not abandoned them after all. God’s message for them back then is God’s message for us, today. Hear God say to you in the midst of your own difficult situations, “I am the LORD, and I will free you from your burdens…I will redeem you…I will take you as mine…” May you renew your patience, and may you find your hope and trust that God has not abandoned you renewed as well.

Pray

Holy God, it isn’t always easy to hear You and know You are there. Forgive us when we become impatient and discouraged in the silence. When we grow weary, may we be able to turn to Your Word and to turn to each other, and find our hope in You renewed. See us through the difficult times, O Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Go with God!