He Hears, Cares and Acts
“God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.” – Exodus 2:24
Dear Friends,
What a week of snow and cold – and it’s only Wednesday! For someone who grew up in Canada, and still loves the beauty of freshly fallen and falling snow, I’ve certainly experienced my fair share of interruptions and adjustments during our recent weather. I pray that you are managing in the midst of it and know that if we, as a church, can be of any assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Beginning on Sunday, we entered the New Year by looking at The Great Escape – the journey of the Exodus, and the impact that story still has on us today. How bondage and slavery is both something that happens to us from the outside, but also that we participate in by the choices we make. That we need someone outside of us (God) to enter in and save us, free us, but we also need to participate, to work at living in that freedom today.
At the tail end of Chapter two, we hear about the situation in Egypt after Moses runs away. He’s seemingly doing well, getting married and all (we’ll soon be reminded that he’s got unfinished business back in Egypt), but regardless of his status, things are not good for his people in Egypt. There’s a new Pharaoh, and new groans and cries from the people to God.
And that’s where it gets interesting. Because the text says two things – God heard and God was concerned.
Think about that for a moment. The God of the universe… heard their cries and cared about them.
And just like those slaves, God cares about us too! What will come next is God acting to free this enslaved people and to bring them to a place of abundant provision – so we can take it a step further and recognize that this God is a God who saves and frees. This God made a promise to their ancestors and commits to carrying it out for them to.
I offer this up as an encouragement to you – that God hears, God cares and God acts even now, for you. You might feel a far way off from God, disconnected, estranged – you might think that the God and the church was something for your parents or grand parents or great grandparents… but I want you to know, that the same God who heard and cared and freed slaves from Egypt thousands of years ago is the same God who hears and cares and acts, even now, for you!
Come and hear, come and see, come and experience some of it this Sunday!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus,
Pastor Don