Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Always There

Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” Exodus 3:10-12

It seems maintaining faithfulness in tough times has become a theme for the New Year as I have been inundated with stories of people dealing with tough times.  Not just your ordinary ‘have a rough week’ tough times. Instead, more of the ‘the husband and pastor of my church was killed by someone he was trying to help and I do not understand why God allowed this to happen’ tough times (not my pastor by the way). These are the times you find out how real God is in your life.  What do you do when you feel all of the prayers are unanswered and the words of friends trying to comfort you fall hollow?  I admit at those times I initially feel lost and a bit alone.  However, this does not send me to a place of blaming God for my woes.  Instead, it becomes a time to exercise patience and trust in His word knowing He is there with me.  Always.

Tough times are when God’s promises will give you comfort.  The story of God revealing Himself to Moses is always encouraging to me. It’s not just the knowledge of God existence as I mentioned last week.  It is Moses’ perspective here that is revealing.  We all have the moment where we look at a task or situation that we are in, and we ask ourselves, “How can we deal with this?”  How do I overcome the pressure where there is no relief? How do I deal with the pain that seems never ending or sorrow that won’t go away?  After being given the directive to lead the people of Israel out from slavery, Moses, understanding how massive an undertaking God was giving to him, asked a similar question; Who am I to do this?  God reassured Moses saying, “I will be with you.”  Thus, Moses’ perspective went from just the average guy to God’s personal messenger.  This would instill all the confidence he needed to follow God’s instruction.  We all have those moments where we are simply overwhelmed.  However, these are the times where we should remain faithful and be filled with the never ending hope as written in Romans 12:12 (Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying).

Our journey of faith is an ongoing story filled with both struggles and successes.  Our goal is not to run from challenges.  It is to continue looking forward and focusing on God. Furthermore, we must maintain our hope that the purpose of our current situation will revealed in the future. So let us remember the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4 fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and remaining faithful.  How can assurance of God’s presence aide you in your current situation?  What challenge do you need to take to God today? My prayer is that we continue to look forward to God knowing He is always there.  Amen.

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