For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
You may think that once the exciting part of Moses' story is over, Exodus has nothing to offer. I thought that for awhile as well. But then, this time around, I discovered three treasures buried beneath laws and stories of Moses conversing with God. The verses that I'm about to show you are often overlooked. I don't think I've ever heard them referenced before.
I can't remember if I've mentioned this here or not, but I believe I'm called to foreign missions, particularly Africa. I honestly cannot imagine anything else for my life. So naturally, being used to my quiet suburban life, this urging from God wasn't comfortable news. It's not what I would have chosen for myself. In fact, it was the last thing I wanted to do! (I'll probably extrapolate on callings at a later date.) My mission field isn't a safe one. For awhile I worried about my safety, my life (and occasionally the fear tries to creep back in). I worried that I might die. I worried that people wouldn't receive God, or that I wouldn't be a "good missionary". And then, in Exodus, I found a diamond amongst coal:
"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; ... for My name is in Him. ... If you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you. ..."
These few verses began to re-silence my fears and reconfirm my faith. The fleshly voice of doubt within me went from painful screaming to semi-confident shouting. And then, a few verses later...
"I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you."
The voice went from a shout to normal speech. Slowly, through His ancient written Word, God was calming me. Here. In 2011. With something written thousands of years before my birth! Originally spoken to the infantile nation of Israel, this promise of theirs became this promise of mine. You see, the place to which I am called is not safe. It is not easy there. My biggest fear was of a premature death. I was worried about 'enemies' coming to slit my throat or pierce my side. But He will cause them to "turn their backs" to me. You will be safe in His arms. This reminds me of a verse found in Job:
From one disaster after another He delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you.
That's not to say that bad things won't happen, or that you won't face any adversity. (Click on the link, and look at the entire verse. It's pretty interesting.) But in the end, God will win out. If you allow it, His will will be done. When it comes down to it, you'll be delivered. And that voice of doubt will devolve and vanish.
I read those verses in Exodus sometime last week (I really don't even remember what day) and a few days after reading those, I came across a later Exodus verse. I call it "The New Jeremiah 29:11". For awhile now I've been praying that God will do some crazy stuff through me. I've been asking Him to reveal His glory through my life. I've been asking Him to fix me and make me more like Jesus. I've been asking Him for a lot for my future, as well as for my present. I want Him to show Himself through what I do, and I want Him to wreck the despair and violence in which people live. But anyways. When I read this verse, I got Holy Spirit chills, just as I did with the other verses. But this one especially, I felt, was a bold promise.
And He said, "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the Earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you."
He makes a covenant. A covenant. The strongest promise that there is. He will do things that haven't been seen or even fathomed in the entire Earth. Everyone around me will see His work. He will do an awesome thing through me. This is a sermon that I've got to preach to myself continually. And it's a powerful one.
These promises are thousands of years old. So, I believe that God transcends time, right? So while He may not have been speaking to my face when He first said those words, I believe that He knew that one day, I would read those covenants. He was speaking them to me then, just as He was speaking to the Hebrews.
So, those are my promises. What are yours? What is God promising you? I ask you to seek out answers. Pray for revelations. Pray for Him to reveal your calling to you. Count on God to make you some crazy awesome promises.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
[See also Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)]
Seek His covenant to you. Search for your calling. But don't stop there.
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