For My Ears as Well

I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage, and I will rescue you with an outstretched arm ~with special and vigorous action~ and by mighty acts of judgment. And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God. Exodus 6:6,7 Amplified Bible

We miss the poignancy, power, and practicality of Scripture when we limit what is being said to just the ones being spoken to at that time. Years ago, I would have read the account of the children of Israel and Moses’ message to them and seen it as just a part of Biblical history. God’s words would have been for their ears only and my part would have been to simply observe. I would have noted their situation, heard what God said to them, seen His deliverance for them, and walked away impressed but unmoved. I did not have the ability within myself to see that the message was meant for me as well. I could not imagine God’s words were powerful enough to span the centuries and hover over my own life all these years later.

This morning, God is allowing me the wonderful experience of seeing His words to Israel as words for me as well. The very things that weigh me down and hold me in bondage are being met with His phrases of “I will bring you out, I will free you, I will rescue you, I will take you to Me, I will be your God.” While it may not be a nation I am enslaved to, God wants me to know He is aware of the oppressions of my own soul. He knows what dreams have been dashed, what longings have gone on fulfilled, what things tear at my emotions. He does not see me as a lost cause. He is not looking the other way waiting for me to get my act together. His arms are not crossed, His face does not house condemnation, and His voice does not have tones of harshness.

How do I know? Because His words in Exodus 6:6,7 came as an answer to prayer for me this morning. I read them within minutes of crying out to God for freedom from those things that continue to eat away at me. Am I free yet? No. But I take His words to heart and hold on to them as a promise that WILL be fulfilled as surely as it was to the children of Israel. I do not know all that God will do and I do not know how He will do it, but that does not stop me from resting in His pledge.

Father, You are getting a lot of mileage out of Your message to Israel. I drink in the truth that You are now speaking it to me. Amen.