Exodus 18:8 – “Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.“
When Moses was leading the people of Israel through the wilderness after their deliverance from Egypt, he met up one day with his father-in-law, Jethro. After recounting to him God’s mighty power in delivering them from Egypt, Moses also highlighted all the hardships they had been through after that deliverance, testifying to Jethro about how God had saved them each time they called on Him.
Take note – being delivered from the hands of the Egyptians did not mean an end to their hardships! They faced many trials and temptations on their journey – such as a shortage of water and food – but the purpose of each hardship was to teach them total dependence on God. As a Christian, examine your life and you would discover that one of the main ways we learn dependence on God is through cycles of hardship or difficulty – in which we draw closer to Him and He delivers us from them or in them.
But as Jesus warned us in Luke 21:34, instead of seeing them as an opportunity to draw closer to God, we are tempted to either try to escape them using alternatives outside of Christ or to become anxious, worried and desperate. Ask yourself today – in the midst of your difficulty, pressure or tension, will you try to escape, become worried and anxious, or will you see that situation as an opportunity to draw closer to God?
PRAYER: Oh LORD, help me to turn away today from that which has the power to turn me away from You, and give me the grace to turn to You in the midst of my trials, in Jesus’ mighty name!
