God's ways are not our ways...

Although circumstantial faith is not a healthy thing, I think it’s ok to acknowledge that God definitely uses our circumstances to get our attention, and to grow & shape our understanding of who He is…

I see this in two ways in Exodus 7- where we see God intersect history to simultaneously teach the Egyptians and the Israelites, two groups at two very different places in their knowledge of the divine…

First we read about God’s plans for revealing Himself to the Egyptians. God explains His purpose in what He’s about to do- “The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country.”

The signs God performed may have shook them up and gained their attention {giant flying grasshoppers will do that, ya know!}, but it was only in removing the entire population of Israeli slaves that would really show them the omnipotence of God. Why? Because removing the slaves meant removing their comfort, their status, their illusion of power… and it is only in being stripped of these things that they would realize there was something bigger than themselves at work.

They “will realize that I am God”… not just a nice addition to their lives along with the other gods- He alone is God and He alone is what gives us our very existence and value and purpose. Sometimes we, like the Egyptians, need to be stripped of things to show us our need for God as Lord and not just an accessory or option.

Then, we read God’s purpose in what He’s about to do with the Israelites. God’s order to Pharaoh was to “Release my people [the Israelites] so that they can worship me in the wilderness.”

The Israelites believed, but had grown weary and discouraged in the many years of slavery… they thought that maybe God had forgotten them, maybe He wasn’t going to keep His promises after all. Their knowledge of God hadn’t waivered, but their spirit of worship perhaps had.

photo cred.

The wilderness in scripture is always a place of testing, waiting, and wandering… God knew that before He could elevate them into a nation, He would have to win their adoration by a transition season in the desert wilderness. It’s in this barren place where He can show His leading, His provision, and His presence- which leads to leaning on Him and worshiping Him. The testing, waiting, and wandering probably weren’t what they would have picked to be rescued into, but God had a holy purpose in it nonetheless.

Sometimes, if we’re honest, we come to a place of questioning God’s means and methods of grabbing our attention. It seems a little cruel and unfair to use loss, suffering, wandering, and waiting to gain our affection. What kind of a God would do that? But it’s in these moments we must remember the very thing we just celebrated- that more than anyone, He Himself knows loss and suffering, being stripped of comforts and glory...

I‘m reminded of Natalie Grant’s song “Alive”… “What kind of king would choose to wear a crown that bleeds and scars to win my heart?”

Whether we identify more with the Egyptians or the Israelites at this point in our journey, we have the comfort of a Savior who relates to where we’re at and understands… and a reason to hope because the power that raised Him back to life is the same power that is at work in us and in our circumstances.

May we rest in our knowledge of Him, come what may…