Hope For Your Journey

HOPE FOR YOUR JOURNEY

Exodus 3:1-12

There are times in life when we are tired, weary, frustrated and discouraged. We endure times of sickness, loss, strife and turmoil. At times it seems that we have no hope. If we are honest, there are even times when it seems that God is a million miles away. Sometimes in a moment of weakness we may question of God even cares at all.

As long as we live on this earth there will be thing that happen that we simply don’t understand. Why do we face constant financial struggles and can't seem to get ahead? Why do test results come back positive and our lives are changed forever? Why do marriages fall apart? Why do children suffer from incurable diseases? Why do parents have to bury their children? There are many things that we may never understand this side of Heaven. However, those of us who are in Christ can experience peace, assurance, and hope even when our situations seem hopeless.

God’s people facing times of great difficulty and hardship is not a new phenomenon. There was a time when King David was so overwhelmed by his troubles and the seeming lack of compassion and attention from the LORD that he cried out,

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? (Psalm 13:1-2)

Exodus chapter three records a time when God’s chosen people, the Nation of Israel were in bondage and enduring immense difficulty. There were many times when they questioned if God really cared about their troubles.

If we are honest there are times when we face troubles, trials and tribulations and we begin to ponder if God is there and if He even cares. Though troublesome times will come, our selected text makes it clear that God is indeed present and He does care about our hardships and difficulties. Furthermore, He is in complete control and He has a plan and a purpose for every tragedy that we face in this life.

The Book of Exodus chronicles the deliverance of the Children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The Exodus is actually one of the greatest miracles of God in the history of the world. Though the Israelites may have questioned God’s concern for them and they certainly were not happy with the timeline of events, Yahweh was in complete control of their situation and He had a plan for their deliverance.

Moses was faithfully tending to the flock of his father-in-law Jethro when God called him to lead His people out of Egypt. There is no way that Moses could have expected the amazing sights he was about to see, the voice he would hear, and the command that he would receive. This faithful shepherd was about to have an encounter with God that would change his life, and the lives of the Jews forever.

3:2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings…”

There are numerous lessons that we can learn from God’s deliverance of His people from their bondage in Egypt. We can find great encouragement form the fact that God sees our affliction, He hears our cries, and He knows our sorrows. Even more impressive than these specific realities is the fact that God not only sees, hears, and knows all about us, He cares enough to act in our best interest. I would like to join the Children of Israel for a little while today and consider the thought “Hope For Your Journey”.

- Let’s begin by considering the fact that:

I. GOD SEES YOUR AFFLICTION

v7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt… and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters.