Today’s Reading: Exodus 1-2:15, Psalm 34

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. – Psalm 40:1-2

The nation of Egypt had grown very powerful because the hand of God was on Joseph’s life, yet they were still a self-seeking, sinful people and they oppressed God’s children. A new king was now in leadership and he was intimidated by the size of Joseph’s growing family, the Israelites. He decided to make them slaves and appointed brutal slave drivers over them, assigning them with crushing labor.

Life was bitter for the Israelites as they were worked without mercy and under the pressure of ruthless demands (Exodus 1:11-14). The more Pharoah oppressed God’s people, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread. Pharoah gave an order to the Hebrew midwives to kill every newborn boy, only letting the girls live. But the Hebrew midwives feared God and refused the King’s orders. So Pharoah ordered all the Egyptians to kill every newborn Hebrew boy (1:22). Imagine the terror and grief of God’s people as their babies were yanked from their arms and cast into the Nile River. God heard their cries.

BUT GOD IS NEVER CAUGHT UNAWARE. HE IS NEVER WITHOUT A PLAN.

What a wonderful truth. Time and time again in history, we see evidence of God’s response to the oppression of a group of people. He raises up a leader or a team of people to stand up in opposition to injustice – racism, sexism, discrimination, hatred, abortion and more. God is not uninvolved, nor is He unaware. He does not wring His hands in uncertainty or turn His back on His people. He empowers and equips His people, calling them to rescue and restore.

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. – Psalm 34:19

God raised up a leader from those baby boys to rescue his people. A married couple from the tribe of Levi gave birth to a son and hid him for three months. When they could no longer hide him, they placed him in a basket and laid it among the reeds of the Nile River, with the baby’s sister watching close by. Pharoah’s daughter found the baby and claimed it as her own. Because GOD IS GENEROUS, He even worked out a way for the baby’s mother to take him back home and nurse him until he was old enough to move into the palace and be raised by the princess, who named him Moses.

The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” – Exodus 2:10b

His name was Moses because he was lifted from the water; he was drawn out of his situation and rescued. God does not always respond immediately, but He is involved. There may be a period of time in which we cannot see the evidence of His involvement, but we can trust that He has a plan and that He is working it out for us. It may not be time for you to be lifted out of the situation, but you can trust that He is holding you in his hands and keeping you from sinking deeper if you will just let Him.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the many ways in which you have generously provided for us. Thank you for being present and active in our lives, knowing what has been and what will come. It is comforting to know that nothing about my day will catch you off guard or unaware. Help me to trust you in the midst of it all.