That’s How God Works!
I’m sure that you have heard the saying, “the Lord works in mysterious ways!”. But I have watched God work out so many situations for me (and others) that I knew I didn’t have any control over. As I look back over my life, I see what God has miraculously done for me when I turned things over to Him and trusted Him. And so, I am compelled to proclaim instead, that “the Lord works in amazing ways!”. In this week’s scripture (Exodus 2:1-10), the amazing story surrounding Moses’ birth is told. In it, we are able to see God’s miraculous hand orchestrating people and events to save Moses’ life, so that one day He could used for God’s glory and to lead His people out of bondage. I pray that you will faithfully put your trust in the Lord, and that you will never cease to be amazed by what you see Him do in your life! (Listen to the Sunday Service choir singing “That’s How The Good Lord Works”)
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. (Exodus 2:1-4) Following Pharaoh's edict to kill Hebrew male babies at birth (see Exodus 1:22), Moses was born. Although it was a violation of Pharaoh’s decree, Moses’ mother hid her newborn son for the first 3 months of his life, until she could no longer hide him. Then she put him into a basket and placed him along the river bank of the Nile. Instead of killing Moses, she preserved his life as long as she could and then she trusted in God’s providence to preserve his life further. His sister stood nearby and watched “to see what would happen to him”. At that point, what she couldn’t have foreseen or even imagined, was how God would orchestrate the people and events in Moses’ life to prepare him to be used to deliver His people out of Egyptian bondage. Stay near to God and watch… you may be amazed at what God will do!
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. (Exodus 2:5-6) Through divine providence, Pharaoh’s daughter was bathing in the Nile near where Moses’ mother had left him laying in that basket. She had Moses brought to her, and recognizing that he was a Hebrew baby, felt compassion for him. In this way, God used Pharaohs own daughter to issue Moses a reprieve from Pharaoh’s murderous decree. God can even use your enemies for His purpose and your blessing!
Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:7-10) Moses’ sister, still watching, saw the intent of Pharaoh’s daughter to have mercy on her brother and quickly offered to go and get a Hebrew woman who could nurse the baby. Moses’ own mother was brought to Pharaoh’s daughter to be his nurse. God worked it out so that she not only gave Moses to his mother to nurse, but paid her to do so. Following the nursing period, Moses’ mother took him back to Pharaoh’s daughter. He went from being condemned to die, to a life as the son of one of the princesses of Egypt…and she named him Moses. Ironically, his very name (meaning drawn out of the water) signifies God’s triumphant overruling of Pharaoh’s plan to kill all Hebrew male babies by throwing them into the water! God can work things out for you in ways you never even imagined!
When we turn our most pressing and persistent problems over to God and trust Him, we can watch expectantly (like Moses’ sister watched to see what would happen) to see Him work out the solution that will best serve His purpose and be for our good. I’m sure that it couldn’t have been easy for Moses’ mother to put her baby in that basket and leave him in the Nile river, not knowing what would happen to him. Nor could it have been easy to give him up for adoption to the daughter of the Pharaoh who had decreed that being born a Hebrew boy, he should die. But God had a plan and He worked it all out so that Moses would be used to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage and into God’s promises. Whatever you are going through, whatever problem you are struggling with, turn it over to God. Then, look to Him expectantly to see what He does with what you have trusted Him with. And if you ever want to be amazed…just watch how God works!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
