Exodus 3:16-17 (NIV): “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers–the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob– appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites–a land flowing with milk and honey.’”
The descendants of Israel in Egypt during their 400 year sojourn had lost track of the fact that they were God’s people, and that He was their God. In the midst of their toiling and suffering oppression, they had no sense that He was present with them, watching over them, and putting the pieces into place that would ultimately lead not only to their salvation from slavery, but to their inheritance of the Promised Land, as He had sworn to their forefathers.
At first the process seemed too hard. Pharaoh increased their workload in response to God’s demand that he let His people go. And the people almost lost heart. They couldn’t yet see how God was working His plan, even in the midst of their trials. Then came weeks of plagues that God brought on Egypt – plagues that devastated the Egyptians, but left His people untouched. Only then did the people begin to realize what was really happening: that the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was really working on their behalf to set them free. Only then did hope begin to spring up in their hearts. Only then did the old promises, passed down through the generations, begin to glow with new life.
The thing is, God had been with them the whole time, even in the hardest of times. He had been watching over them, guiding them, protecting them, and helping them to grow into a great nation (despite varied attempts to slow down the multiplication rate by Pharaoh!). They were unaware of God’s presence, blind to the actions He was taking on their behalf, and ignorant of the thousands of graces that He showered on them every day; unaware of miracles that He was performing to keep them on track with His plans for them. It was only when they found the burden too hard to bear, the trials too hot to tolerate, that they called on God to act, and their eyes were opened so that they could see His hand at work on their behalf.
Father, it would be easy to criticize these people for not seeing the many ways in which You were actively present, doing everything necessary to make all of Your promises come true. But, Lord, how often are we the same as them! How often do we fail to sense Your presence with us, Your hand protecting us from a thousand things each day that could ruin or kill us, but from which You protect us without us even being aware of the danger! How many ways have You gone out of Your way to bless us, and we blissfully receive the blessing without even being aware of Your hand; without a single word of thanks! Forgive us, Lord, for being so blind, so deaf, so senseless, and so lacking in gratitude. Open all of our senses so that we can clearly see Your hand at work, so we can feel Your presence, so we can take heart that You are near in every trial. Amen.