Exodus 6:6-7 (NIV)
“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
Explanation:
In this passage, God is telling Moses what to say to the Israelites. God wants the Israelites to know that He is going to free them and He is faithful in His promises to them. Have you ever had someone you cared about make a promise to you and then not follow through? It hurts so deeply when that happens, and it causes us to trust that person less. It also causes us to trust others less. I think sometimes as broken people we trust God less because of the hurts from others in our lives. But God isn’t like those people. He is perfect and ALWAYS keeps His promises. Mind you, they might not come through in the timing we would want or in the way we would prefer, but He always stays true to what He promises. Isn’t that so comforting, to know that even when people in our lives let us down, or when our circumstances aren’t what we would like them to be, God is faithful always?
The last verse of this passage sticks out to me. “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” God wants them to remember that He is the one who kept His promise, and He is the one who saved them. Maybe it’s because I am getting older, or maybe I have always been like this, but I have a hard time remembering things. So, when God does something cool in my life, I have a hard time remembering it. Since I know I struggle with that, sometimes I will take some quiet time with a notebook and just ask God to remind me of those things, and I write them down.
God has saved me from unforgiveness. Before knowing God, I was a very cold and bitter person. If someone hurt me, I could cut them off easily and not even bat an eye. God has softened my heart and taught me how to love people better and how to show grace. He has also made me empathetic, which is something the old me would never have had as a trait. I am so thankful that God keeps His promises, and keeps pursuing us through our brokenness and through our stubbornness, like the Israelites.
Application:
Do you have a hard time trusting God’s word and His promises in your life? If so, why do you think that is?
Do you have a hard time trusting in God’s timing?
Do you struggle with remembering the times when God came through on His promises? If so, spend some time asking Him to remind you of those times, and write them down.
Devo Plus:
Spend some time in worship, thanking and praising God for all He has done in your life.
Prayer:
God, thank You so much for always running after Your people. Thanks for pursuing us even when we aren’t pursuing You. I pray that You would remind us of all Your good works in our lives. I pray that we would have hearts of thankfulness, and we would give You all the praise and all the glory. Amen.