I saw a
pair of hands lifting a baby from a basket that was floating among the reeds in
the river. Images flash back and forth from this sight to a scene where a woman,
downcast and whose face was shadowed by her headdress, embraced her baby one last
time, then gently placed her precious one into a basket and let it float away
in the river. Then a voice said to me, “Moses”.
This story,
my dear friends, is the very heart of God for each of you reading this piece. I
woke up this morning and meditated on Exodus 2 as the Holy Spirit reminded me of
the birth of Moses. Over and over I read and the same voice spoke, “To whom much
is given, much is required. Write about this.”
It is recorded
in Exodus 1 that Pharaoh gave an order to all his people that every boy born
must be thrown into the Nile, but let every girl live. The Hebrew woman I saw
in the vision was the mother of Moses. God had opened a way for Moses to live;
He delivered Moses out of the death decree and gave Him that which was uniquely
his – Prince of Egypt.
In our
lives, there were moments when God had delivered us out of our circumstances, gave
us each unique experiences and placed us in positions according to His divine
plan. Yet many times, we are not aware of God’s sovereign deliverance and favor
till He chooses to reveal. And when He does, He requires us to make a stand and
respond to Him. The Bible says that God gives according to the measure of our
faith (Romans 12:3). God revealed to Moses in a burning bush, and that was
given according to the measure of his faith. It was by faith that Moses refused
to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to be mistreated along
with the Israelites. By faith, He left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger
because he saw God (Hebrew 11:24-27). When God called to Moses in the bush of
fire, Moses responded, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3: 4) Perhaps, if Moses had not
recognized the voice of God, He would not have responded in this manner. But by
faith, Moses knew God and responded. When God calls you, He will send you and empower
you to accomplish His purpose because He is faithful and He will be with you
(Exodus 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Moses’ name
was a prophetic name which sounded like the Hebrew for ‘draw out’ (Exodus 2:
10c, NIV). Moses was drawn out of the same river Nile that bore the death of
many Hebrew baby boys. He was set apart for God’s mighty deliverance plan. If
you know that God has called you to carry out His calling for you, do not fear
because just as Moses was set apart, you too have been set apart by God to
fulfill His work.
Some of us
may be feeling dry despite the certainty of God’s calling in our lives. Let us
declare that the glory of Zion and the year of the Lord’s favor are upon us:
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the
glory of the Lord
rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the
peoples, but the Lord
rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isaiah 60:1-3)
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom
for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s
favor and and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who
grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead
of ashes, the oil of joy instead
of mourning, and a
garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of
righteousness, a planting of the Lord for
the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and
restore the places long devastated; they will renew the
ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners
will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you
will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on
the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a
double portion,
and instead of disgrace you
will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and
everlasting joy will be yours. ‘For I, the Lord, love
justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and
make an everlasting covenant with them. Their
descendants will be known among the nations and
their offspring among the peoples. All who see them
will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.’ I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make
righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
(Isaiah 61)
So, my dear
friends, to whom much is given, much is required. God has delivered you out of
your circumstances over and over again. He has given you favor in the sight of
God and man. He has given you unique experiences where you’ve tasted and seen
His goodness. And now, what he requires of you is to walk humbly with Him and
respond to His calling for your life. You did not choose Him; He chose you to
GO – to GO and bear fruits that will last (John 15:16).
Got it? Or
rather, done it?
