Don’t Desert the Deserts in Life!
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later” (Hebrews 3:5).[/perfectpullquote]Have you ever felt like you were in a desert? Maybe a boring job, bad relationship, or just feeling broken down? The life of Moses, whose real career started when he was 80, shows how God can use us even when we believe we are trapped in the desert. Here is a simple outline of the first six chapters of Exodus to help guide you through the passage. Follow along in your bible to get the sense and flow of each section (You may want to read Acts 7 for a quick summary for now, to see the place of Moses in Israel’s history.):
I. Pharaoh’s Indenture (Chapter 1)
II. Perfect Irony (Chapter 2)
III. Plant in Flames (Chapter 3)
IV. Power Imbued (Chapter 4)
V. Pharaoh Incensed (Chapter 5)
VI. Promise Instituted (Chapter 6)
God’s chosen people were in trouble. They were trapped in a foreign land under harsh bondage. Over 400 years ago, God had promised his people a land flowing with milk and honey, but they were in a land flowing with Hebrew blood, sweat, and tears. Unbeknownst to them, God was preparing a deliverer in a most understated way.
Pharaoh had ordered all the male Hebrew babies to be drowned. But God had chosen His deliverer, and nothing could thwart God’s plan. When Moses was born, God rescued him from death, similar to the way He rescued Jesus from Herod (Matthew 2). When God has work for you to do, He will preserve your life until it is finished.
Moses was raised in Egypt, where he received the finest education and learned the ways of the Egyptians. Although he spent 40 years in their culture, he did not forget his heritage. He even made attempts to deliver some Hebrews in his own power, but the timing was not right. Have you ever tried to move ahead in your own power and timing, only to have things backfire? For Moses, his actions resulted in an unremarkable sojourn in the desert for 40 years.
It was during this dry spell that the Lord called Moses in an unmistakable way — he was about to embark on a new phase of life. I look back on my life and see how the skills and lessons I learned during the dry, mundane periods of life have come in handy. The most dramatic change, of course, was when I heeded God’s call to repent and exchange death for life. I’ve since used the sound tech and repair and communication skills in service to churches and other ministries. God prepares us for work we cannot imagine. For 80 years, Moses learned science, leadership, and geography skills that would serve 2 million wandering Hebrews well for another 40 years.
Even under God’s power, Moses’ first venture was unsuccessful, but later results proved that victory could only come through perseverance fueled by faith in God’s promises. If you feel you are living in a desert, thirsty for a life of service to God, just remain faithful. Remember, God has a purpose for your life. It may not be glamorous, now or ever, and it may
not be what you want. You may think you are too old and a useful life has passed you by. Have you gone from a place of comfort and prestige to a place of anonymity and apathy? God had a purpose for you when you were born, and if you will remember how He has kept you in the past, read and believe His words, and focus on faithfulness and not immediate results, you will eventually discover the oasis of meaning and purpose in life.
Alan Allegra
If you would like to read an expanded lesson on this passage, click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12GG5qthirA_ojMYtgpGiYQ2FNaWNbr3W/view?usp=sharing