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God Knows

February 16, 2022·Dan Hicks

Exodus, chapter 3, is a favorite of mine, for a very personal and encouraging reason. It was this chapter that the Lord used to clarify a direction of my life, which resulted in my wife and I moving across the country and planting a completely new congregation. The outcome of that journey remains a constant source of joy and encouragement for me. There continues a thriving congregation, which has significant impact in the city and beyond.

So, when we came to this week in our Pause reading plan, I was excited to write about some verses from Exodus 3. The story is a familiar one, for anyone who has done much reading in the Bible. It might be that you have not done much Bible reading, so let me quickly summarize the story.

Moses had to flee for his life from Egypt, where he had been raised in the house of the Pharoah. He got into trouble, and now the Pharoah is seeking to kill him, so he runs away to another land. While there, he is taken in by a man from Midian, and then marries the daughter of this man and goes to work for the man as a shepherd. Fast forward 40 years and we find ourselves in chapter 3 of Exodus.

“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So, he looked, and behold, the bush was not being consumed” (Exodus 3:1-2).

Moses’ situation at this time was one of great humility, obscurity, and probably a sense of having arrived at a dead-end street for his life. Perhaps you’ve felt that way before or even do now. Moses has been pretty much hidden in obscurity, keeping sheep (a humbling job) for 40 years. If there ever was a dead-end street for someone who had dreams and aspirations, I can only imagine this was it.

But the good news is, God always knows what’s going on, how you might be feeling, and where you’re at… all the time!

There are three things that have always been a source of encouragement for me from this passage and have certainly proven to be true in my life experience. I want to share them with you, and, hopefully, you will gain a perspective that can strengthen you in the days ahead.

1. God will speak when you are engaged in ordinary, ho-hum activities. Forty years of doing something, especially something you might not have ever desired for your life, qualifies as ho-hum in my book, for sure.
2. God’s voice is usually heard when we feel we are useless. I can only imagine Moses had experienced those kinds of thoughts over 40 years of keeping sheep that were not even his own.
3. God often communicates through unexpected ways and at unexpected times.

The temptation is to really become a preacher at this point, but I won’t. I think it’s clear, and here is my summary.

God is not unaware of you, what you’re about, nor has He forgotten His plan for your life. As you head into this week and take this to heart, I invite you to take the limits off God! Keep being who you are. Keep doing what you do. In other words, keep being faithful and know this: As you are, God has not forgotten you, and He will faithfully bring you into His best plan for your life. God is good… ALL THE TIME!

Shalom,
Pastor Dan Hicks