The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Friday
February 22, 2008
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest
of Midian, and he went deep into the wilderness near Sinai, the mountain of God.
Suddenly, the angel of the LORD appeared to him as a blazing
fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames, but it
didn't burn up. "Amazing!" Moses said to himself. "Why isn’t that bush
burning up? I must go over to see this."…
Then the Lord told him, "You can be
sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries for
deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.
So I have come to rescue them from the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into
their own good and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the
land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and
Jebusites live. The cries of the people of Israel have reached me, and I have
seen how the Egyptians have oppressed them with heavy tasks. Now go, for I am
sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
Exodus 3:1-2, 7-10
Several years ago, we watched the movie on television about the life of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Through the eyes of the moviemakers we saw the oppression of slavery once again and how despicable it was. We think we have come a long way, but we have much further to go to end oppression.
God hates oppression and so did Moses. When Moses first stepped out to fight oppression he did it in the flesh and failed. Then, after forty years of serving as a shepherd in an obscure land, God revealed Himself and His plan to him in a strange and mysterious way. Although God may not use a burning bush to get our attention today, He will do something strange and mysterious in our lives to get our attention regarding His plan for us.
In 1994, my oldest sister committed suicide, or at least that is the way things appeared. Whether she put the gun in her mouth herself, or her husband performed a "mercy" killing on her behalf, God used her death to get my attention to His plan for my life.
Carolyn, like so many people I know, struggled with skeletons in her closet that rattled at the very core of her being. Having been married, divorced, and then remarried placed a stigma on her that could possibly prevent her from serving the Lord freely with her spiritual gifts. So, she kept her past locked away tight and secure for many years. When the truth came out she could not handle others knowing that she had fallen short.
Years earlier God had placed a burning bush in my heart for people like Carolyn, and yes, even myself, to be a bridge between their pain and how the church misunderstood their circumstances. I finally yielded. Proverbs 14:29-30 explains beautifully what Moses had to learn and what I had to learn, "Those who control their anger have great understanding; those with a hasty temper will make mistakes. A relaxed attitude lengthens life; jealousy rots it away." Jealousy of the calmness of other's lives prevented me from walking in the call. God healed. I'm on my way.
Father, I praise You and thank You for the Holy Spirit's work in Your church today. You are showing us that our sins are cast into the sea of forgetfulness by You and are only to be used to bring glory to You and healing to others. I am amazed that You would use me in ministry. May You be exalted and may oppression of people who have fallen cease in Your church! May these strongholds be demolished!
