EXODUS 5:20-23: “When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them. They said to Moses and Aaron, “We want the Lord to look at what you have done! We want him to judge you for it! We are like a very bad smell to Pharaoh and his officials. You have given them an excuse to kill us with their swords.” Moses returned to the Lord. He said to him, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on these people? Is this why you sent me? I went to Pharaoh to speak to him in your name. Ever since then, he has brought nothing but trouble on these people. And you haven’t saved your people at all.” (NIRV)
OBSERVATION: Am I letting my past define me? As I begin each day, am I always looking over my shoulder waiting for the next shoe to drop? If anyone could identify with these feelings, it was Moses! Here is a little review.
Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh, raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. At the prime of his life, he tried to help a fellow Hebrew who was being beaten by an Egyptian. Killing the Egyptian, he felt he was helping to deliver one of his people. However, this gesture was rejected by his fellow Hebrews, and Moses had to flee from Egypt to Midian. Forty years later, Moses follows God’s command to approach Pharaoh with the demand – “Let My people go!” And, as if the past was on fast rewind, Pharaoh refuses, imposes a severe punishment on the Hebrew people, and Moses is once again rejected by his own people. Here are Moses’ own words…
- “Lord, why have you brought trouble on these people? Is this why you sent me? I went to Pharaoh to speak to him in your name. Ever since then, he has brought nothing but trouble on these people. And you haven’t saved your people at all.”
The wonderful thing about the Bible is that it gives us a mile high perspective on life. We know how the story of Moses turns out. We celebrate the wonderful deliverance of the nation of Israel from the cruel servitude of the Egyptians. Yet, we also identify with Moses’ struggles along the way.
It is hard to shake of the past.
Unlike a critique of the Biblical account, when it comes to our own life, we don’t have a mile high view. We can barely see 6 inches beyond the moment. Yet, the Lord has given us the true life accounts of those who have passed before us to give us perspective. We see the full spectrum of the human struggle of God’s people. And we also see God’s faithfulness to both guide and deliver them into victory.
The key lesson we can glean from Moses’ struggle is this – Moses’ past would not define him – God’s promises would!
It is difficult to forgive, but it is even more difficult to forget. The enemy of our souls loves to remind us of all our failures in the past. Yet, faith calls us to rise up against these attacks and proclaim – “Like those who have gone before me, I will not allow my past to determine my future. I will wholly trust in God’s promises, and walk by His grace!” When we do that, we break the bonds of affliction, we cast off the accusations of the enemy, and we enter into the pathway of victory and fulfillment that God has promised!
Lord, this morning I determine to learn from my past, but not live in my past. By Your grace, through Your promises, and in the power of Your Holy Spirit, may I walk boldly into the full purposes and blessings of Your will. Grant me the grace to be defined by only one thing – Your Word over my life!
In Jesus Name!
