GOD HAS A PLAN

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.' "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." Exodus 3:11-22

God has spoken to Moses from the burning bush, telling him he is going to be the one to lead the people of Israel from bondage and oppression to freedom and a "land flowing with milk and honey." When Joseph asks, ""Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?", you’ll remember that God assures him that he won’t go alone for He would be with him. Then God does something else for Moses. He gives him a plan.

For Moses, still doubting he could pull off what God wanted him to do, asked, ""Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" And God replied, ""I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you’…Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. " Notice where God uses the famous forefathers of the Hebrew faith, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to validate who He is to the Israelite people. This would help Moses gain their confidence and cooperation. For God now was about to give Moses His plan.

Note that Moses doesn’t have to devise how he will carry out God’s will. God tells him exactly what to do. And He will do the same for you as well.

God tells Moses to "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.' "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."

God instructs Moses and at each crucial step, he assures him what will happen. He tells Moses to go and gather the elders of Israel, sharing the message that God gave him. And God already guarantees Moses that ""The elders of Israel will listen to you." God and only God knows what will happen in the future before it happens. This is what also enables God to tell Moses to expect Pharoah’s rejection of his proposal…a rejection that will lead to God to "stretch out (His) hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that (He) will perform among them." This, God reassures will cause Pharoah to let Moses go and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So in the midst of Moses’ confusion, God entered in with a detailed plan for success.

Question: Are you going through a confusing time in your life? Are you wondering how God will use you to get through that time? Have you truly turned to God and asked Him to reveal His plan for you…the plan He wishes to use to see you through the confusion and to a place where you have endured the challenge and persevered to victory, not through your own works but through His work and guidance in your life? Rest assured of this, God has a plan. He has a plan for everything…and just like He was with Moses to see the plan through, so too is He with you…every step of the way. That’s good news.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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