When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
On Monday we saw that we have a “Behind the Scenes Savior” who is at work in our lives, even when we cannot see Him or sense His presence. On Wednesday we saw how He worked behind the scenes in the life of Joseph; today we’ll look at another great hero of the Old Testament: Moses.
Moses was born at a time when the Pharaoh of his day had given the order for the Hebrew midwives to kill all the baby boys born to the people of God. When Moses was born, God was at work behind the scenes, and Moses was taken in by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as her own son . . . and as the grandson of Pharaoh. Moses received the finest education and military training that was available; clearly God had placed him in the household of Pharaoh to prepare him for service years later.
God was working in the heart of Moses, who, at age 40, decided to be “mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24). When visiting his people, he saw an Egyptian slave master mistreating a Hebrew slave and he struck down the slave master. Moses thought he was going to deliver his people from bondage in his strength and in his way, but Pharaoh sought to kill Moses for what he had done. Moses was now a condemned murderer on the run. But once again, God was working behind the scenes in the life of Moses, and He sent Moses to the back side of the desert in Midian for the next forty years, preparing Moses to be the deliverer of God’s people.
When Moses eighty years old, God called Moses into service and sent him back to Egypt to deliver God’s people from bondage and slavery. When Moses objected and gave every excuse he could think of to get out of his calling, God said, “I will be with you.” God was with Moses and used him to deliver his people from their slavery in Egypt. For forty years, Moses led God’s people out of Egypt, through the desert, and to the Promised Land. Throughout all 120 years of Moses’ life, God was working behind the scenes.
Moses could never have imagined what God was up to during the first forty years of his life as he grew up in the household of Pharaoh, living a privileged life. Then, as a condemned murderer, he never could have imagined what God was up to during the next forty years of his life as he worked as a shepherd in the desert of Midian. But when God suddenly came out from behind the scenes and appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses began to understand how God had been at work throughout his entire life, preparing him to be the deliverer of God’s people.
It is my prayer that this week’s three-part devotional will be a source of great hope and encouragement in your life. God is at work in your life, even during those dreary and difficult seasons when you cannot sense His presence or understand what He is doing. Remember, Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Just keep looking to Jesus. He has everything under His complete control in your life. Always has, always will. You have His Word on that!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 