John was devastated when he lost his job. Closer to the end of his career than the beginning, he knew it would be hard to start over somewhere new. He started praying for the right job. Then John updated his resume, read interview tips and made a lot of phone calls. After weeks of applying, he accepted a new position with a great schedule and an easy commute. His faithful obedience and God’s provision had met at the perfect intersection.
A more dramatic instance of this occurred with Jochebed (Exodus 6:20) and her family during the time of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt. When Pharaoh decreed that all newborn Hebrew sons must be cast into the Nile (1:22), Jochebed must have been terrified. She couldn’t change the law, but there were some steps she could take to obey God and try to save her son. In faith, she hid him from the Egyptians. She made a little, watertight papyrus basket and “put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile” (2:3). God stepped in to miraculously preserve his life ( vv. 5-10) and later used him to deliver all of Israel from slavery (3:10).
John and Jochebed took very different steps, but both stories are marked by faith-filled action. Fear can paralyse us. Even if the result isn’t what we expected or hoped for, faith empowers us to keep trusting in God regardless of the outcome.
By Karen Pimpo
REFLECT & PRAY
When do you find yourself frozen in fear or worry? How can you faithfully take the next God-honouring step?
Dear God, please help me faithfully take each step on the path You have for me.
Scripture offers two reasons why Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed (Numbers 26:59), protected Moses. First, Jochebed saw that “he was a fine child” (Exodus 2:2); she saw something special in him. He’s described as “no ordinary child” (Acts 7:20; Hebrews 11:23). A second reason is that his parents “were not afraid of the king’s edict” (Hebrews 11:23 ). Like the two Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15, 17), his parents feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. Hebrews 11:23 commends Amram and Jochebed as people of great faith.
K. T. Sim
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