Where Grace and Faith meets- Moses

Remember faith is two things from Hebrews 11:1,6

1) Having hope in things that are not seen

or having a heavenly perspective

 

and

 

2) Believing that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him 

 

But through grace, we still have to seek Him every day while waiting on Him. His grace will enable us to have faith to rest in Him with the day-to-day and the long-term. As we continue on, we need to remember these guidelines as we now study about Moses in Hebrews 11 verses 24-27

 

 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

 

When I read the verses above, I respect Moses for his faith because he didn't care about the things of this world. His prestigious and royal upbringing did not hold him back from feeling the rejection and oppression of his family. Just as God gives us the ability through His grace to choose His ways over the ways of pleasure, He gave Moses the ability to think of his family and to step out of his comfortable lifestyle. Apparently, Moses was so passionately against his family's oppression that he killed an Egyptian. Through God's grace, He spared Moses' life for doing something wrong.

 

Now I am typically not a person who likes to come up with side stories if it is not in the Bible but in the case of Moses, what do you think he did in the 35 years while he was away in Midian? I mean he was only there because he killed an Egyptian. Did God have him wait there for a time to develop him into a person that He wanted Moses to be? I don't know. But Moses must have thought of his people and longed to see how they were doing. Whatever God planned for that time, we do know that He still had a plan for Moses despite his shortcomings.

 

It is always exciting to see how God uses people who reject the things of this world and uses them despite their struggle. In Exodus 3, God approaches Moses in the burning bush in the land of Midian with His plan. Moses still shows how he struggles with desiring the things of this world. How does he struggle, you ask? He is afraid that because he is not an eloquent speaker that he is not the right person for the job. But God responds,

 

     “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

 

But Moses continued to hold onto fear. Despite Moses' lack of faith, he still steps out in the faith and trust God's plan.

 

Moses gets to Egypt and tells the children of Israel God's plan. They receive him with open arms. Moses and Aaron then approaches Pharaoh and everything goes bad. He makes it even harder for the Israelites to work by taking away the straw to make the bricks. The Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron and once again, Moses responds in fear. God then responds

 

  "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

 

God tells him to wait. Trust in my greater plan and it will work out. Moses steps out in faith and tells the his people again the plan of God. Poor Moses receives rejection again. But even though Moses frets two more times telling God that he was not fit for the job, he still steps out through God's grace and does what God commanded him to do. He had to wait to see what God was going to do in order for Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

 

Several chapters and nine plagues later, Moses is a different man. Through faith in a God who says what He will do and do it, Moses forsakes his fear and has become more confident in God. It states in Exodus chapter 11 verse 3 that the servants and people of Pharaoh found favor in  Moses. And as we already know Pharaoh lets God's people go because he too saw that Moses served a God that was in control. Through God's grace after rejection after rejection, Moses completely let go of his need for the things of the world and had faith in God's greater plan.  

 

This is going to be the last in this series. Thanks for reading.

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