Devotions
A God Who Acts
(September 24th, 2008)
Reading Plan: Exodus 6-10
Featured Passage: Exodus 6:6-7
“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 Egyptian.’”
The other day I made a new friend, and she asked me to tell her about myself. This is a common enough request, but, to be honest, it flummoxed me for a moment. Where would I start? What sort of information did she want or need to know? For that matter, what sort of information would best characterize me? What would be most memorable? After a moment of awkward deliberation, I basically just started to list various things that I had done or was in the process of doing. My actions were the best description for my self that I could come up with at the time.
As we saw in the previous devotion, God is beyond comprehensive definition. Nevertheless, we see in this passage that God does leave his people some things by which to know Him—one of which is His actions. The Lord says here that He will save the Israelites from the cruelty of the Egyptians and that, by doing so, He will teach them that He is their God. In simplest terms, He will act so that they will know.
Thus, we learn a lesson that is so simple that it’s easy to miss. But, don’t miss it. Let it sink in. The lesson consists of only two words—only seven letters. Here is the lesson:
God acts.
It is so easy, for me at least, in this post-modern, materialist world to putt around the events of the day not looking for anything extraordinary. It’s easy to depend only on human power and initiative to get things done—praying just because I’m supposed to (or not praying because it won’t make a difference anyway). But, here’s the truth: God acts. Why? Well, in the context of this passage, God acts so His people will know Him and have confidence in Him. Is it possible that this is as true for us today as it was for the ancient Israelites? Is it possible that God is at work in our lives and the world around us so that we can better now Him and have fuller confidence in Him? If it is possible, are we looking for it? Do we depend on it? Perhaps we should start doing so.
Suggested Prayer:
Lord God, I speak to You hoping and trusting that You hear me. Please help me live in such a way that I depend on You acting too. Forgive me for relying on myself when I ought to trust in You. Please teach me to be confident in You by taking action in my life and my world. Rise up, Lord. Please flex Your muscles as you did in Egypt so long ago. Help Your people to know you. Help Your people to see You. Help Your people to trust and follow You. But Lord, let it be according to Your wisdom and not mine. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
