With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: Exodus 14:13
“And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today…’”
Meditation: Moses is Charlton Heston
Today’s meditation is written by Koleen Barnes.
For me, Moses has always been Charlton Heston. I remember begging my mom to stay up and finish the whole Ten Commandments movie on Easter. I couldn’t wait to watch the story of the boy in the basket unfold. Year after year she always told me I could stay up until they crossed the Red Sea, and no later. It was a school night, afterall.
For all I knew it could go on for hours after they get across the Red Sea, but that is where my story ended. What other amazing drama could I be missing out on? Up until this point, The Ten Commandments was unbelievable. A Sunday school story playing out in the most mesmerizing way. As an adult, I am still captivated by the story. Moses is still, and will probably always be, Charlton Heston in my mind. But I finally watched the whole movie and, to my surprise, it ends shortly after the crossing of the Red Sea.
Although my childhood illusion of a grand finale that I was too young to view was broken, it did help bring the story into perspective. Each piece of Moses and the Exodus story is magnificent on its own. In the end, the story isn’t really about Moses at all, but rather the trust of God’s people.
In each step of this story, everyone is required to trust. Moses had to trust that God would give him the right words to accomplish his task, and the Isrealites had to trust that although things were bad, God had a mighty plan for them. I think of the scene when they are crossing the Red Sea and there are whales swimming around them and question if I would have enough trust to even think about doing that. Most of the time I’m afraid to go past my waist into the ocean.
The Isrealites had to have a lot more trust than I think I have most days. They had to trust that God was working in their favor and would deliver on his promises. They had to trust that the unknown ahead of them, though scary, would be better than the lives they were leaving behind. Sometimes it is hard to trust that the unknown life in front of us is going to be better. Sometimes it is easier to stick with the known, even if it is not a good situation. We can learn from the Isrealites in this story. We can have a bit more trust in the one that holds our future than we do in our own hold on our past.
God, I ask that you help me to be more trusting of your plan. I want to trust in you not only when it is convenient, but also when things are difficult. Please teach me to have trust in you and let go of my own sense of control. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)