Walking Confidently in the Will of God (Blogging Through the Bible)

Walking confidently in the will of God isn't always easy. Look at Jochebed, young Miriam, Pharaoh's daughter, and Moses...each one of these people faced difficult and even life-threatening circumstances, but in at least three of the four cases, we know that it was their faith in God that allowed them to walk obediently on the path that God was calling them to take.

Even Pharaoh's daughter, though, knew the value and sanctity of human life and risked her own in order to save baby Moses from certain death when she defied the evil decree of her father, the Pharaoh of Egypt. Obviously from what we read about in the increase of the population of the Hebrew people, Pharaoh failed in his attempt to kill all the Hebrew baby boys.

It was because of the obedience of Jochebed, young Miriam, and Pharaoh's daughter that a nation increased in the midst of Egypt and its evil ruler.

We can see in our reading this week how God promises to equip those He extends a call to as well as faithfully providing for those like Amram and Jochebed who choose to walk obediently with God in this life. When we choose to surrender what's dearest to our hearts into the loving hands of God, we can be certain that God will take care of it and in some cases - like that of Jochebed - will give it back to us and even more!

No, walking confidently in the will of God may not always be easy, but I'm thankful that God has given us examples such as Amram and Jochebed - the parents of Moses - who show us how a life surrendered in faith to God can have a far-reaching impact on the lives of others.

Here is our reading plan for this week in Exodus:

Here are my S.O.A.K.s for Exodus 2 and 3:

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Exodus 2

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-10

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Observations: Jochebed’s faith led her every action as she sought to save the life of her baby boy from the evil decree made by Pharaoh to throw all the Hebrew baby boys in the Nile. I believe she and her husband, Amram, prayerfully considered how they could save Moses’ life. I believe God led them in the plan that they developed as they faithfully surrendered their baby boy into His loving hands.

Application: It is hard to surrender to God when you can’t foresee how it all will work out. My husband and I experienced a very real financial crisis last year that required reckless faith in our God Who sees around corners and knows what the final outcome is going to be. The One Who sees the big picture of our lives can be trusted. The more we surrender these kind of scary moments of our lives to Him, the more we will see His mighty hand move in our favor as we walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, I praise You for Your faithfulness to me. Please forgive me for the times that I have not walked in faithful surrender with You, but instead have tried to maneuver through difficult situations in my own way. Thank You for the times that my husband and I have lived out the truth that You work all things together for our good as we trust You and walk by faith during the difficult and sometimes scary times of life. It’s during those times that we have experienced for ourselves who You are and so have grown closer in our relationship with You. For that we can be thankful and say we will always praise You in the storms of this life. In the faithful name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Exodus 3

Scripture: Exodus 3:10-15

¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

Observations: God commands Moses to go to Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites. Moses is rightfully hesitant to go back to face Pharaoh who forty years ago was in pursuit of him because Moses had killed a man. Moses felt inadequate for this assignment from God and so gives this first of four objections to God.

Instead of answering Moses’ question of “Who am I”, God assures him that He will be with Moses. God takes the focus off of Moses and puts it on Himself, where it rightly should be! God prophesies to Moses that he will know that God has indeed sent him because God will bring him and the Israelites back to the same mountain on which they were on at the time of this visitation.

Moses understood that in times past when God revealed Himself to his ancestors that God gave them a name or title for Himself. Moses wants to know what he should tell the Israelites should they ask him for a name for God. God tells him to say, “I am Who I am” – a name they would recognize as Yahweh so calling them back to the faith of the patriarchs.  “I am Who I am” also leaves room for us to fill in the blank so to speak as to whatever need we have for Him to be in our life. Whatever is lacking or needful in our life, God becomes our “I am”. He is everything we will ever need in this life.

Application: It’s never in our own ability that we are ever able to accomplish any assignment from God. We have to be careful though that our lack of self-reliance does not lead to a lack of faith in what God can do through us. Even through our weaknesses, God is able to perform all that He says He will do.

Remember how God has showed Himself to me in times past so that I can walk in a confident peace for the here and now. What “I AM’s” has God shown Himself to be in my life? Make a list and keep it in my Bible.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, You are the great I AM of my life and for that I am so thankful. Every lack or need in my life, You alone are able to fulfill it. You are so faithful to me…thank You for your faithfulness. I pray that I would always be faithful and obedient to do all that You call me to do with confidence knowing that it is Your empowering presence in me that will accomplish everything You ask me to do. All praise, all honor, and all glory belongs to You alone. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

I'll see you back here on Friday for as we discuss more of our reading in Exodus!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

**Chime In**

Has there been a time in your life when it wasn't easy to walk confidently in the will of God? If you feel comfortable sharing, please share in the comments below.

 

I remember a time in my life when God called my husband to the church we currently attend as the Children's Pastor. I was very comfortable in the church we were attending at the time. As I was driving home one day, "discussing" the issue with God by giving all my excuses for not wanting to leave...I clearly heard Him speak into my heart, "Stop grasping at straws and trust Me." 

 

"Ohh, yes Lord!" I responded and it was settled in my heart from that moment on. What a blessing it has been to serve the children at our church for the past 13 years come this August!

I'm so happy to be Blogging Through the Bible with Courtney Joseph of Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Please click on the image below to read more Blogging Through the Bible posts from Courtney and others.