series: The God who remembers #
verse: Exodus 1:1-22 #
Main Idea: #
“You won’t find any mention of God, miracles, signs, or any amazing parables. Rather hardship, suffering, oppression. But you will see that God is still deeply in work.”
Why is God silent sometimes? #
To give us hope to something greater. Contextually, the Israelites have experienced an absence of God for roughly 400 years. In verse 1, we see the geneological descendants of Abraham in order to show that God is working on the promises he made back in Genesis. God is always there. And he has a masterful plan. God builds slowly. We see that the people nation of Israel grow to great heights. God has been faithfully helping them multply and grow into a nation. God silently aided the Israelites.
What is God doing during these lulls? #
Silence does not equate to God not working with us. He is always with us and constantly watching over us and working within us. He is always holding our hand. Stand firm and abide in Him. There will be worldly things that will try to pull you away from trusting in God. They will rip you apart and tear you to pieces. And God allows these moments too. God continues to stay silent but also continues to work. This is because he cares about us and would rather us grow than bring immediate relief. “It’s not punishment, it’s preparation for something better”.
How should we navigate through these quiet times? #
Daily faithfulness but what does this look like? Often it’ll feel like, “I’m going nowhere. I’m not good enough. I’m not producing enough. Where are the results?” But just like we don’t see God’s provisions and how he’s working within our lives, we also fail to see how we are working within our own lives. We need to also be mindful of how we mesaure ourselves. You may think that you’re stagnant, but you’re in fact growing faster than ever before. To combat this, we need to be actively mindful of ourselves. We need to reflect often and see, “Where has God been faithful to me?”. Sometimes it’s not a matter of “God working”, but rather us “Seeing how he is working”.
So pray often. Talk to God. Be present in the Word of God in order to remind yourself of the presence of God.
When does Godly obedience begin? #
When we revere God more than we fear people. We can see this in verse 17 when the Egyptian mid-wives refused to follow the Phraoah’s commandment to kill all Hebrew male born babies. Defying the Pharoah’s word would most likely result in immediate execution, but they feared God more than man. Having a deeper respect for God’s authority, even when it costs us secularly. This form of obedience is unseen, sacrificial, costly, but also very real. Only God saw these actions. And so God “Dealt well with the mid-wives”. When we are quietly obeying and being faithful, even when nobody is watching. God will honor our obedience, even when nobody else sees. Soften your heart to enable yourself to see the ways in which God is working.