Acknowledged
This morning I was reading in Exodus and I stopped and
thought about this one verse for a long time. It’s the last verse of chapter 2.
The children of Israel have been enslaved and are being afflicted by Egypt. We
of course, know the story and know they are being set up for a huge
deliverance. But they don’t know that yet even though it was prophesied by
Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph.
The verse says this: So, God heard their groaning,
and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God
looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. That’s
a lot of action words. He heard, remembered, looked, and acknowledged them. And
the very next chapter is where God seeks out Moses to be His deliverer.
In chapter 4, Moses and Aaron show up and explain to the
elders what God is up to. They have an active response to the promises. In
verse 31 it says, So the people believed, and when they heard the
Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked on their
affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
Their deliverance was still a long way off, and we are going
to watch it unfold over the next chapters. Deliverance had not yet come, but
the process had started. Nothing physically changed from verse 30 to 31. They
were still in bondage. They were still going to get up in the morning and work
under harsh taskmasters. But their response and outlook were different. They believed
God had visited them and they worshipped.
God visited them in the midst of their pain, in the middle
of their storm, and in their affliction. He didn’t wait for their situation to
“get better.” He didn’t shun them because He didn’t know what to do with them
or for them. He acknowledged them.
The caregiving road can be filled with pain, suffering, and
regret. It can feel like we are carrying a load that gets heavier with every
step. And God knows that. He sees us. He remembers us – even when life seems to
forget us. Now it’s up to us to respond in worship. But if there’s anything we
do know as caregivers – it’s laying our lives down. And that’s the heart of
worship.
Today, I will let my response be one of worship. As life
presses my heart, I will be grateful that He acknowledges my situation
and my pain. I will be thankful that He remains faithful to His promise to
Abraham and that I am an heir to that promise. I’ll lay my life down on the
altar of this life and I will continue to declare He is my God. And that is
where freedom lives. Will you join me?
Comments
Post a Comment