God Is Always Faithful! Are We Holding Onto That Hope? (Exodus 5:22 - 6:13)
This verse is an encouragement. It challenges us to remember that we have a God who is faithful to all His promises. It is meant to be a life preserver when we find ourselves trying to swim in the seemingly overwhelming, sometimes drowning, circumstances in life. It is our only source of true hope and hope is what buoys the heart when life discourages.
From yesterday's reading in Exodus to today's I watch not just one person but a whole nation go from believing and worshiping God in His promises to becoming discouraged. It all happened because they lost focus and let go of Hope. Their circumstances got worse before they got better and they doubted. They heard God's promises and were excited at the start but His timing and theirs were not the same. He had told the people that the heart of Pharaoh would not be so easily broken which would mean their yoke of slavery would not be so easily broken, but it would indeed break. It was going to take "time". When that "time" brought with it greater struggle it also brought the opportunity to doubt. It brought with it the garden serpents original question first asked of Eve, "did God really say...."??? They began to question God's goodness, God's faithfulness, God's love by weighing it against the circumstances they saw and experienced and they let go of the truth, they let go of the hope of God's faithful promises.
So what about us? Life often feels like a stormy sea, full of ups and downs. We each encounter different circumstances, different situations that try and capsize our focus from the hope God has given us through His promises. Do you hold tight to the life preserver of hope, God's promises, when things seem beyond your control? Do you hold tight to the hope of a faithful God when things seems to get worse before they get better? Do you hold firmly to the hope that you have a God who loves you and is always there to hold onto you even if you let go of Him? Do you hold onto the hope that you have a God who's timing is perfect and works all things together for good (Romans 8:28)?
We know what happened to the discouraged and captive Israelite's. We know the whole Exodus story. We know that it kept getting seeming worse before the heart of Pharaoh was broken, before their release from bondage was complete, before God brought them safely to other side of the sea of their struggles and washed away their past behind them. God has a plan and therefore God has a hope you and I can firmly hold onto. Let us be encouraged by this. Let us encourage each other with this. Let us not allow our circumstances to be our focus and discourage us. Whatever life holds for us let us hold onto the hope that is found in the promises of our faithful God and Father. He is already there, waiting on the other side of whatever we find ourselves in, we just need to trust and hope in Him and He will see us through.
The following is a link to a song that hopefully will encourage you and bring you joy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtg9axTtNLg
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