“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord’” (Exodus 6:6-8).
The people of Israel seemed to be overwhelmed. They felt that their situation was hopeless. They were living in dark times. It seemed like nothing but trouble lay ahead of them. Their courage was low. Their hope was almost gone.
How did God see this situation? How did he feel about it? He saw what was happening, but he also saw something else - "the promised land." Things seemed hopeless to man, but not to God. He was about to change everything. This change was the work of God, but the people needed to be ready for change. They needed to be willing to be changed by God.
God wanted them to move in the direction of love and life, the love of God, the new life He had for them, but they needed to be ready to move. The journey ahead of them would be hard and dangerous. Often, they would wonder what lay ahead of them.
We need to be ready to obey the call of God. He calls us out of our slavery and into his freedom. Our journey will not be easy: "When the road is rough and steep, fix your eyes upon Jesus."
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