HIGHLIGHTED VERSE:
“Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman.
The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.
When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” - Exodus 2:1-3
ENCOURAGEMENT:
Have you ever felt rejected, abandoned, unwanted? I have. I know this pang of pain far too well. When I was born, my biological Father chose to not be in my life. He claimed to have wanted nothing to do with me, and my Mom was left on her own to raise me. Thankfully, my mom is the best mom I could have ever asked for! But, the ache of rejection haunted me even as a child. I grew up believing that if God was real, He would never want me, or He would abandon me too. Who did I belong to? What does it even mean to be a Daughter? Who am I? I struggled so deeply with my identity, and felt like I did not belong anywhere. Have you ever felt this way? I know so many of us do! When I finally surrendered my life to Jesus in my 8th grade year, the first thing that stunned me about Jesus was the way He loved me and claimed me as His own. All my life, I had felt abandoned, and fatherless… unworthy of God’s love. But, in my deepest place of pain, He came, scooped me out of my darkness, and called me His own Daughter. I remember the first time I had ever felt His love. I was broken, and at my wit’s end. Alone in my room, I cried out to Him in desperation and suddenly, I tangibly felt His arms wrap around me. Literally! I felt a supernatural warm presence come around me. I knew it was God. It was the first time I had ever felt the love of a Father in my entire life. I finally belonged! It’s the greatest feeling in the world to know you belong to the God of the Universe, and you can truly call Him Dad! Even if the whole world rejects you & turns it back on you, you have a Perfect Father who promises to never leave you or forsake you.
Imagine how Moses felt. Here he was, as a Hebrew (Jewish) baby being surrendered by his own Mother, who was trying to save his life. By the end of Exodus 1, the pharaoh of Egypt had decreed that all the Hebrew boy babies were to be drowned at birth. When Moses' mother gave birth she decided to hide her son, in hopes that his life would be spared. After a few months, baby Moses became too big for her to hide safely where they lived, so she decided to place him in a caulked wicker basket. She placed him in the basket, in a strategic spot within the reeds that grew along the sides of the Nile River. She did this all with the hope that he would be found, and his life would be spared from the decree of death over the land. To ensure the baby's safety, Moses's sister Miriam watches from a hiding place nearby, as baby Moses floats down the Nile. His mother knew that her baby’s life was at stake under the oppressive hand of the Egyptians. Her only option was to send her baby boy down the Nile river in hopes that he would end up in the hands of a kind Egyptian, or that she would be spared of having to witness the death that may come of him.
Floating down the river, little baby Moses's crying alerted one of the pharaoh's daughters who took the baby. When it is clear the princess is planning to keep the child, Moses' sister Miriam comes out from hiding. She asks the princess if she would like a Hebrew midwife. The princess agrees and so Miriam arranges to have the real mother get paid to nurse her own child, who now lives among the Egyptian royalty. Moses who was originally a Hebrew baby is now adopted by an Egyptian princess, and will be raised Egyptian. Talk about an identity crisis!
Although Moses was placed in a basket and sent down a river away from his family & culture, he was never truly abandoned. God’s hand was upon him the entire time, even as a baby. Even in this moment, God was there. God was orchestrating a much greater story and purpose. This Hebrew baby boy would soon grow up to become the Deliverer of the Jews. He would lead out an enslaved people from bondage, into the promises of God! The Jewish people would soon go from slaves, into Sons of God. God was writing His story, even in the face of rejection and abandonment. God drew him out of the water, and was preparing him for what was to come. But, he wouldn’t see this perspective until he encounters God later in Exodus 3 through a burning bush.
Maybe, just maybe, the rejection you have faced in your life is being used by God to deliver many people out of the hands of the enemy! Your deepest places of pain & ache will become your greatest places of authority and hope for others, just like with Moses.
Cling to your Perfect Father. The pain from your past does not determine the trajectory of your future, because your times are in His hand. He writes the best stories, so trust that every broken piece of your story will be redeemed by the love of a Perfect Father. He claims you as His own. You are no longer a slave to rejection, abandonment, and sin… You are a child of God!
Romans 8:15,
“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
QUESTIONS:
- Describe who God is as a Father to you. What is He like? Why do you love Him?
- Can you recount times where you experienced pain in your life that has been used to glorify God later in your story?
- Do you relate to Moses’s story?
- Read Romans 8! What stood out to you & how can you apply it to your life?
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You that I belong to You. Thank you for calling me Your own, and that I am Your child. It is my greatest joy to be Yours! Thank you for loving me, and taking me out of slavery! I refuse to believe that the rejection I have faced in my past determines my future. You write my story, and I trust You. I love You. Amen!
