Verse of the day: Exodus
3:19-20 But I am sure
that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20
So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will
do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.
Too
often in serving the Lord, I have met Christians who have started out with
great zeal and excitement in serving the Lord, but shortly thereafter faded
into the woodwork. Over time their excitement for the things of God was
quenched, and their desire to serve seemed to dissipate; to the point that many
became absentee brothers/sisters in the local church. What happened? Well, the
ministry happened. What I mean by this, is that the initial excitement of
serving came face to face with those who did not receive their zeal for God in
the way they thought it would be received; and what started out as “fun”
suddenly became time consuming labor, and rejection. God is sending Moses to Egypt,
already aware of the opposition he would face. God already knew about Pharaoh’s
hard heart, and how he would challenge God’s authority. He also knew that God’s
people would give Moses a difficult time when their labor is made more
difficult by Pharaoh (Exodus 5:5-7). So it is with us when we serve the Lord
today; God has already warned us of how the world would react to our service,
and life, for the Lord. Jesus told us in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated
Me before it hated you. 19 If
you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember
the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If
they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they
will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s
sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” Sadly, sometimes
the opposition may even come from within the church as well. The truth of the
matter is that serving the Lord is both exciting and fulfilling, but comes with
its hardships. Moses’ service to the Lord started with its challenges right from
the beginning. Before God officially called on Him, he was rejected by his own
people when he tried to help them. Now that he is being sent by the Lord, he
will be facing opposition from a man who had the power, humanly speaking, to
put him to death. Nonetheless, Moses has the greater advantage because God will
be with him, and Pharaoh, with all his earthly power, was still no match for
the Lord. Regardless of where God sends us, or what He calls us to do, we must
keep in mind that there may be great opposition, and there may even be times
where we may come face to face with death itself. However, the Apostle Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that we have the final victory; for in Christ, not
even death can defeat us. 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 reads, “O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord. The bottom line is that we must always count the cost
of serving Jesus so that we when we face the challenges that the Lord already
knows we are going to encounter, we will not give up and quit, knowing that the
Lord is with us. God is the One who is going to see us through, and give us the
victory. For those of us who have already read this account, we know how it
ends for Pharaoh, and Moses, in carrying out God’s command. We who have read to
the end of the Bible also know how it ends for our enemies, and for us who are
in Christ. So, march on, and know that in the end, we win!
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