The God on Our Side
For the past couple of weeks, I have been involved in some outpatient therapy back at Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital. Randy, the PT, I am working with is very knowledgeable and helpful to let me know that needs to take place for me to see progress with my walking. My challenge is remembering what to do and doing it properly.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God answered, “I will be with you. Exodus 3:11,12 NLT
I have recently read the Gospel of Mark and am now back to Exodus. In Mark when Jesus calls His disciples we read, “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” (Mark 3:14 NIV)
The assurance of any mission was tied to a relationship with the Lord. When the Lord is on our side we can have the confidence that He will provide the direction and the protection and the power that is needed as we stay connected with Him.
The success of the Apostles ministry was going to be tied directly to having spent time with Jesus and knowing that He was with them through the power of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven, the Apostles began their ministry. We read this account, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13 NIV)
As the Lord called Moses to be the deliverer of His people, the confidence of Moses was not to rest on his leadership ability, his charisma or any virtue he possessed. His confidence as to be in the fact that God was with Him.
I recently heard on the radio a comment related to prayer. It was something like “the power of prayer is not in the person praying, but who the person is praying to.” There is a cliche from years past that does have some truth attached to it. It goes something like this, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”
When we look at the life of Joseph the repeated observation was that the “Lord was with Joseph.” The Lord’s presence, His favor, His power makes the difference. The Proverb that admonishes us to, “lean not on your own understanding…” could also include the admonition, “…don’t trust in your own strength and ability.”
It is interesting to see how this basic concept was something that the Lord continually reminded and reassured Moses about. After the exodus as the people prepared to leave Mount Sinai, Moses was praying to the Lord about the ominous task before him, “…if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” (Exodus 33:13 NKJV)
The Lord’s response was this, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14 NKJV)
At times the only assurance, the only certainty is the Lord’s presence. But when we have that, we have all that we need.