Now Go
Moses had himself a past.
He could have easily lost his life as a child had not God, in His divine sovereignty, spared him. Then, after being raised in the Egyptian palace, Moses one day stands up to an Egyptian slave driver, beating one of his fellow Hebrews. Moses lost his temper and killed the Egyptian. The next day, he was confronted with his sin, and once word of Moses’ actions got to the Pharaoh, Moses ran away for his life!
For how long was Moses in the wilderness? FORTY YEARS. Y’all, in forty years, I will be an old man. Moses was eighty years of age when something incredibly significant happened in his life. One day, as he was tending his father-in-law's sheep, he saw a burning bush that wasn’t burning. It definitely grabbed his attention, and that’s a good thing because it ended up being the God of the universe, and when God speaks, people listen.
God begins to speak to Moses, and in Exodus 3:7-8 this is what God says to him. “Then the LORD told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians…”
At this point, Moses is probably PUMPED—like he just got front-row tickets to the Super Bowl. He’s probably thinking, “God is coming to kick some serious Egyptian booty, and I have the unlimited buffet in the owner’s box.” NOT SO FAST. God says the words, “…I have come down…” but then in verse ten, God says, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
And then Moses probably choked on and spit out his buffalo chicken dip. “Excuse me?” Did God not remember Moses fleeing in fear of losing his life 40 years prior? And now that I have a family and some stability in my life, you want me to go back to the very place I said we would never return to? It’s often ironic how God doesn’t call us to stay in our comfort zones. No, He calls to the dangerous, to the dark, to the unsafe. And tells us He will “be with us.” But in this particular story, there is something that sticks out to me more than anything else. God said, “…I HAVE COME DOWN…” to rescue His people because He has heard their cries for help. Their prayers. He saw their tears. And just how will God “come down” to rescue His people? Through Moses.
“…I have come down…now go…”
On Friday, I have a tradition I like to follow. It’s a $5 smoothie day at Smoothie King. Honestly, it is still a lot of money for a smoothie, but RELAX because I’m the one telling the story. There is a lady who often takes my order. Let’s call her Annie. She was there for the first two trips, so I learned her name and introduced myself to her. Every week, I’ll order my “Muscle Punch” smoothie and will always say, “Hey Annie, how are you?” She smiles as always and says it back after she answers.
This last week at church, we were challenged to give some “goodie bags” to people in our community. I immediately thought of Annie! This last Friday, I wasn’t having the greatest of days. A little down in the dumps and emotionally off. I honestly didn’t feel like going to Smoothie King. But then I saw that bag…and thought that it was more important for me to show care to my friend than to be coddled by emotional “needs.” So off I went…
I ordered my smoothie and noticed it wasn’t Annie at the window. I asked the other girl there if Annie was in today, and she said yes. Angie came walking up. I just said hello and smiled at her. I gave her the bag and told her I brought it for her. She graciously accepted it and went back into the store. She came back to the window to hand me my smoothie and had tears in her eyes. This is what she said… “I just want you to know that I am having a really hard time…and this gift you just gave me made my day!”
I told her I would pray for her and was so thankful that I had come. On the way home, I wept. I was so humbled that God could use me in my brokenness and fickle emotions to share and show love to someone who needed a reminder in her life that God loves her!
Our neighbors, our families, our friends or co-workers…WE ALL NEED JESUS! And those of us who have accepted His amazing grace must now be His hands and feet. Will it be perfect? Nope. You will probably stumble over your words and get nervous. Will they reject you or get annoyed with you? Well, to put it bluntly…Jesus was rejected and mocked, and all of that, plus the powers of darkness, couldn’t stop Him from dying on that cross.
I beg you. Live radically. Stop making excuses or fearfully founded reasons why you shouldn’t care for the hearts of lost people. By God’s grace, let them see Jesus in you. Let them feel your heart. Let them be cared for. Let them know you notice them. You know their names. Their prayer requests. Parents of children, what greater time of year is there for you to teach your child life altering lessons than at Christmas.
God said to Moses in that burning bush that He was going to rescue His people. Thousands of years later God came down to again rescue His people not in a burning bush but as a baby lying in a manger. Joy. True Joy is found in what we give. May God bless you and give incredible moments this Christmas season to show a lost world that Jesus loves them.
NOW GO
Jesus
Others
Yourself
