Tag: moses

Week 39 of the Devotional Series 

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The Study of Exodus: Post Three

***Note – We have completed the book of Job and the book of Genesis! This is our third week in the book of Exodus! 

Focus: Exodus Chapter Three

Tip: I highly recommend journaling your responses to the questions, prompts, and reflections. Writing them out can help you process more deeply and see how God is working in your life.

This week’s devotion includes:

Exodus Chapter Three– “Certainly I will be with Thee”

Bible Memory:

Did you memorize last week’s Bible verse?

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is such a valuable practice. Since I’ve been memorizing Scripture, I’ve experienced so many moments where God brings a specific verse to mind just when I need it most. It’s amazing how He uses His Word to speak into our lives right where we are.

This Week’s Memory Verse:

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

Exodus 3:12 

Exodus Chapter 3

“Certainly I will be with Thee”

(Read Exodus Chapter 3 First)

One thing I love about scripture is that when we slow down and really picture what is happening, the Bible comes alive in such a personal way. Before we even begin Exodus chapter three, let’s get a picture of Moses in our minds.

Remember back in Exodus chapter two when Moses killed the Egyptian because he was defending one of his Hebrew brethren? According to Acts 7:23-24, Moses was about forty years old when that happened. Afterward, he fled into Midian where he met Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, and began an entirely different life than the one he knew in Egypt.

Moses went from being raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s house to living as a shepherd in the wilderness.

Acts 7:30 tells us that forty more years passed before the burning bush experience happened. That means Moses was around eighty years old when God told him to go back to Egypt.

Think about that for a minute.

Forty years had passed since Moses fled the very place God was about to send him back to. If we look closely we can see how God was preparing him for what he was about to do. 

God knows exactly when to call us, where to place us, and how to prepare us for the assignment ahead.

Moses was simply tending sheep when God met with him. He was living an ordinary life in the wilderness, far from the palace he once called home. He wasn’t known as a great leader or speaker at this point. Yet God chose to meet him right there in the middle of his ordinary life. Most importantly, Moses was living a life where he could hear from God. He wasn’t too busy, too distracted, too exhausted, or too overwhelmed by life to notice when God was speaking.

I think many of us want to hear from God, but our lives are often so full of noise, distraction, stress, and constant busyness that we rarely slow down long enough to truly listen. It becomes easy to fill every quiet moment with something else. What has helped me most is being intentional about setting aside daily quiet time with God without distractions. If we do not make those moments a priority, they will quickly become filled with other things. Early morning Bible reading and study before my kids wake up, along with evening walks after dinner to pray, have become daily staples that help keep me close to God.

Scripture says Moses led the flock to the backside of the desert near Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai or the mountain of God.

The angel of the LORD appeared in a flame of fire inside a bush. The bush was burning, but it was not consumed.

Can you imagine seeing that?

Naturally Moses went closer to examine it. But when the LORD saw Moses coming near, He called out:

“Moses, Moses.”

And Moses answered:

“Here am I.”

God then told him not to come any closer and instructed him to remove his shoes because he was standing on holy ground.

I think there is such a beautiful picture here. Moses could not approach God casually. The holiness of God demanded reverence.

We live in a world that often treats holy things casually, but Exodus 3 reminds us that God is holy.

I pray I can daily stop rushing and multitasking, and recognize His presence with awe and humility.

God then begins explaining why He appeared to Moses.

He tells him that He has:

* Seen the affliction of His people

* Heard their cries

* Known their sorrows

* Come down to deliver them

I love those verses because they remind us that God is not distant from our suffering.

There may be times when you feel overlooked, mistreated, burdened, or forgotten. But Exodus chapter three reminds us that God sees injustice and hears our cry.

What comfort there is in knowing we do not suffer unnoticed.

These verses also connect beautifully with so many other scriptures:

* Exodus 14:14 — “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

* 2 Chronicles 20:15 — “The battle is not yours, but God’s.”

* Isaiah 41:10 — “Fear thou not; for I am with thee.”

* 1 Peter 5:7 — “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

* Psalms 46:10 — “Be still, and know that I am God.”

How often do we try to fix things ourselves before surrendering them to God?

Moses once tried to “help” his people in his own strength back in Egypt, and it ended in failure. But now God was showing him that true deliverance would only come through God’s power, not Moses’ own ability.

This next part is so relatable…

God tells Moses He is sending him to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.

And Moses responds:

“Who am I?”

Have you ever had that same thought when God was calling you to something difficult or out of your comfort zone?

Who am I to speak?

Who am I to lead?

Who am I to minister?

Who am I to share my testimony?

Who am I to do what God is asking?

Moses felt inadequate and unqualified. 

But I love God’s response because He did not build Moses’ confidence by listing Moses’ strengths.

Instead, God said:

“Certainly I will be with thee.”

That changes everything.

God never promised Moses he could do it alone. He promised His presence.

And that is still the answer today.

When God calls us, He does not ask us to rely on ourselves. He asks us to rely on Him.

If God has been nudging your heart toward something and fear or insecurity has held you back, remember this:

If He called you, He will certainly be with you.

Moses then asks God what name he should give the people if they ask who sent him.

God replies:

“I AM THAT I AM.”

What a powerful name.

God is eternal, unchanging, and self-sufficient. He is everything we need exactly when we need Him.

Do you need peace? He is.

Do you need strength? He is.

Do you need provision? He is.

Do you need comfort? He is.

There is no lack in Him.

Did you notice how God called Moses by name before Moses fully understood who God was. God already knew Moses intimately. How beautiful is that? 

And the same is true for us.

Before we fully understand God’s plans, He already knows our name, our fears, what will happen in our future, and His purpose for us.

Toward the end of the chapter, God tells Moses that He would bring His people out of Egypt, and He would also give them favor with the Egyptians. They would leave with silver, gold, jewels, and clothing.

I love how God can do more than bring us through hardships. Sometimes He brings beauty from it too.

Real Life Application:

  • Are you in a season that feels like you don’t know God’s plan for your life or you feel like you’re waiting? God may still be preparing you there.
  • Have you been resisting something God placed on your heart because you feel inadequate?
  • Are you trying to fight battles in your own strength instead of trusting God to work?

* Have you forgotten that God sees your affliction and hears your cries?

Journaling Questions:

  1. Is there an area of my life where I have been asking “Who am I?” instead of trusting God’s calling?

2. What waiting season in my life may actually be preparation?

3. Have I been trying to handle a battle myself instead of surrendering it to God?

4. What does God being “I AM” personally mean to me right now?

5. Where have I seen God’s timing work differently than my own expectations?

Week 38 of the Devotional Series

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The Study of Exodus: Post Two

***Note – We have completed the book of Job and the book of Genesis! This is our second week in the book of Exodus! 

Focus: Exodus Chapter Two

Tip: I highly recommend journaling your responses to the questions, prompts, and reflections. Writing them out can help you process more deeply and see how God is working in your life.

This week’s devotion includes:

Exodus Chapter Two– “Drawn Out of the Water”

Bible Memory:

Did you memorize last week’s Bible verse?

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is such a valuable practice. Since I’ve been memorizing Scripture, I’ve experienced so many moments where God brings a specific verse to mind just when I need it most. It’s amazing how He uses His Word to speak into our lives right where we are.

This Week’s Memory Verse:

But when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 

Exodus 2:3 KJV

Exodus Chapter 2

“Drawn Out of the Water”

(Read Exodus Chapter 2 First) 

Exodus chapter two introduces us to the birth and early life of Moses. 

A man and woman from the house of Levi had a son during one of the darkest times for the Hebrew people. Pharaoh had ordered the Hebrew baby boys to be killed, but this mother looked at her child and knew she had to do everything she could to protect him. She hid him for three months, but eventually she could no longer keep him quiet or safely hidden. I imagine by then he had found his little voice and it was becoming impossible to keep him concealed.

Can you imagine the heartbreak she must have felt?

She carefully made a small ark out of bulrushes and she sealed it with slime and pitch so it would float. Then she placed her precious baby inside and set him in the reeds by the riverbank. 

Interestingly, the word “ark” used here is the same word used for Noah’s ark in Scripture. In both stories, God used a small covered vessel to preserve life. Can you see how God is such a wonderful Deliverer and Protector!

The baby’s sister watched from a distance to see what would happen. The Bible does not tell us exactly what his mother was feeling in that moment, but I like to believe she trusted that God would somehow work things out according to His will. Her faith is evident in the fact that she was willing to build the basket and place him in the water.

This scene reminds me so much of the phrase, “letting go and letting God.”

Sometimes we reach places in life where we have done everything we know to do. We have prayed, planned, tried, worried, and exhausted every option we can think of. Moses’ mother hid him as long as she could, but eventually she had to place him into God’s hands completely.

And God was already working…

Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river to bathe and spotted the little ark among the reeds. When she opened it and saw the crying baby, she was moved with compassion even though she immediately recognized he was a Hebrew child. At just the right moment, Moses’ sister stepped forward and offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby.

Isn’t God amazing?

The sister ran and brought back Moses’ own mother. Pharaoh’s daughter told her to take the child, nurse him, and she would even pay her for it. Only God could orchestrate something like that. A baby who was supposed to be killed was now protected inside Pharaoh’s own household, and his own mother was being paid to care for him.

God can make provision in places we would never expect.

When Moses was older, Pharaoh’s daughter took him as her own son and named him Moses, meaning “drawn out” or “rescued,” because she drew him out of the water. I couldn’t help but think that years later, the one who was drawn out of the water would become the man God used to draw His people out and rescue THEM from bondage. He was well-named!

As the chapter continues, we see Moses grown and aware of the suffering of his Hebrew brethren. One day he witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. In anger, Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. But sin has a way of coming to light. The next day, when Moses tried to settle an argument between two Hebrews, one of them asked if he planned to kill him too like he killed the Egyptian.

Moses immediately realized someone knew.

He clearly cared about the suffering of his people, but he acted impulsively and took matters into his own hands instead of seeking God’s direction. Sometimes we can have the right burden but handle it in the wrong way instead of waiting on God’s timing.

There is an important lesson here for all of us: do right even when nobody is watching. Sin may feel hidden in the moment, but eventually it comes to light and consequences can follow. Numbers 32:23 warns us, “be sure your sin will find you out.”

Pharaoh heard what Moses had done and sought to kill him, so Moses fled into the land of Midian.

When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down by a well. He saw shepherds harassing the daughters of Reuel while they tried to water their father’s flock, and Moses stepped in to help them. Later, Reuel invited Moses into his home. Moses stayed there, married Reuel’s daughter Zipporah, and eventually had a son named Gershom, which means ‘foreigner’ because Moses felt like a stranger in a foreign land.

After reading about how he killed a man, fled from Pharoah, and started over in a foreign land, we can see that Moses’ failure didn’t change the plans God had for his life.

The chapter closes with one of the most comforting reminders in Scripture. The children of Israel were suffering deeply under bondage. They groaned, cried, and sighed because of their oppression, and the Bible says God heard them.

They were exhausted, hurting, and overwhelmed. Probably wondering if things would ever change. Yet God heard every cry. Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” What a comfort it is to know that God not only sees our suffering, but He hears every prayer and every cry for help.

Maybe you feel that way today. Maybe you are carrying burdens nobody else sees. Maybe you feel stuck in a hard season that seems impossible to escape. Exodus chapter two reminds us that God hears the cries of His people. 

God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His promises of blessing, protection, and a future. And while Israel could not yet see it, God was already raising up the man who would lead them out of bondage.

Things were about to change.

And sometimes, even when we cannot see it yet, God is already moving behind the scenes in our own lives too.

Real Life Application:

  • Sometimes faith looks like releasing control and trusting God with what we cannot fix ourselves.
  • God can provide in the most unexpected ways and through the most unlikely people.
  • Hidden sin eventually comes to light, which is why integrity matters even when nobody else sees.
  • Failure does not cancel God’s purpose for your life.
  • God hears every prayer, every cry, every exhausted sigh.

Journaling Questions:

Is there a situation in my life where I need to stop striving and fully place it into God’s hands?

      Have I been trusting God’s timing even when I cannot see what He is doing?

      Are there areas in my life where I need to choose integrity even when nobody else is watching?

      How has God provided for me in unexpected ways before?

      What burden or hurt do I need to remember that God already hears?