Guest post by Mary Sparks, pastor’s wife, Joplin, Missouri
I’ve learned some lessons about Moses. As I have recently retired from working for the same company nearly 20 years, I have been thinking about God’s Protection and God’s Provision.
Psalm 121:2 says, “My help cometh from the Lord; which made heaven and earth.”
The mother of Moses must have had some slight fears when she learned that all the firstborn babies were to be killed. She must have immediately gone into “planning mode”.
A basket of sorts was prepared, and a trip down to the river bank was treaded with much prayer for the safety of her child. Placing him in the midst of the bulrushes, she most likely cried a little leaving him there.
God’s PROTECTION for this child came into play; the baby was found by Pharoah’s daughter, and a nurse maid sought for the child. It was no coincidence that the “birth mother” was found to give the baby its care.
God had made PROVISION for Moses. As Moses grew, God had a PLAN for Moses. God had set his course from birth, and now he was to lead the children of Israel out of bondage.
Moses had fear, saying he couldn’t speak well, and questioned how those people would listen to him. Again, God made PROVISION in that Aaron was chosen to help Moses. (I have heard the saying, “Where God guides, He provides.”)
As Moses came before Pharoah to warn him of the impending situation and asking him to let the people go, God was now making PROVISIONS for the children of Israel.
When the people were let go, the angel of the Lord went before them as they got ready to cross the sea. God parted the waters, and the dry ground was their trodden path. As Pharoah’s army came after them, the angel of the Lord moved behind them to PROTECT them—a dark cloud was all the fierce army could see; a fiery light was what the Israelites saw.
An amazing thought! One side dark, one side light. It was God’s PROVISIONS FOR EACH SIDE. Yes, God was PROVIDING for their PROTECTION, and God was PROTECTING them from the destruction of the evil coming against them.
God is no respecter of persons. If He made provisions for Moses time and time again, protecting him over and over, could He not do the same for you?!
God is with us every step of life’s journey. As I continued my study of the life of Moses, I have come to realize that God has been with me every step of the way, just like He did with Moses, when he was baby in the river Nile, when he spoke with God in a burning bush, during the plagues of Egypt and dangerous events, and even in the mountain when God gave him the Ten Commandments.
There are times when one feels alone, and the hardships of everyday life. I think of the poem, “Footsteps in the Sand,” and how the writer thought he was walking alone, and yet it was found that God had not left him, but God was the one carrying him through the difficult times.
Those that have had cancer or been permanently disabled because of a horrid accident, no doubt, have battled with this issue.
Oh, how great is our God!
He is a God that cares and know ours every thought, knows every hair of our head, and even knows our every need, even before we utter a prayer.
God knew my husband’s choice before I was married. God knew the calling of a ministry before my husband and I yielded to be in the pastoral ministry. God knew I would face challenges in caring for my loved ones in their latest hours of need, and God still knows what I need today as I have entered into the “golden years”.
God is good ALL THE TIME; All the time GOD IS GOOD.
