Lent Devotional – Day 16
God Is Our Salvation
Exodus 14:13. And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
The passage tells us about the plan of God in our lives. The power of God is always accompanied by His plan. When God heard the cry of His people, His plan was to rescue them. He came down from heaven to deliver them and to, finally, settle them in the Promised Land (Ex. 3:8). For this, He trained Moses in the Egyptian palace, as well as in the wilderness. In Exodus 14:14, Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” On behalf of the Israelites, God fought the battle and redeemed them. The whole episode that happened thousands of years ago in Egypt, reflects God’s salvation for the whole of humanity by sending Jesus Christ into this world. When God saw us in the slavery of sin, curse, and death, His prime purpose was to save our lives. For this, He became man. Deliverance from sin and its sting is important, because sin leads people to death and destruction. Sin is the main cause of worries, difficulties, diseases, daily problems, life-threatening situations, anxiety, hatred, and exploitation. But according to Jeremiah 29:11, God has excellent plans for His people and bright hope for their future.
Secondly, the passage assures us of God’s protection in our lives. The cloudy pillar by day and the fiery pillar by night with the people of Israel show His continuous presence, as well as protection for them (Ex. 14:19-20). With the coming of Jesus, God is with us (Emmanuel) and guarantees us that God has not left us abandoned (Matt. 1:23). In the same Gospel, when Jesus resurrected, He told His disciples, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). When we are surrounded by His presence, then why should we be afraid? We are called to stand firm and witness God’s work in our lives at the time of difficulties. Twenty-four hours every day, God’s presence is with us. His eyes are always on us. In John 10:3, Jesus says a good shepherd knows his sheep by name and leads them out. All his sheep follow Him because they know his voice. God the Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ, wants to have an intimate relationship with us, so we may totally depend upon Him for everything.
Thirdly, the passage shows how the ultimate promise of God was fulfilled in the lives of the Israelites. In vs. 29, we read: “But the Israelites went through the sea on the dry ground.” God’s plan is not just to protect us: He also provides us safe landing. He brought them out of Egypt, helped them to cross the Red Sea and later took them to the Promised Land. The crossing of the Red Sea is set forth as the greatest display of God’s power in the Old Testament, but the greatest power of all time is that which raised Christ from the dead. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we find hope of entering into eternal glory with Him. Evangelist Billy Graham, who died on 21 February 2018, at the age of 99, said before his death, “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it? I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God. Do I fear death? No. I look forward to death with great anticipation. I am looking forward to seeing God face to face. And that could happen any day. The Bible says that, as long as we are here on Earth, we are strangers in a foreign land. There are enemies to be conquered before we return home. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven.”
Saviour, like a shepherd lead us, much we need thy tender care
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us For our use Thy folds prepared.
( Dorothy A Thrupp)
Rev. Dr. Samuel Richmond Saxena