Scripture: Exodus 2:23-3:15 (CEB)
23 A long time passed, and the Egyptian king died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God. 24 God heard their cry of grief, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked at the Israelites, and God understood.
Moses at the burning bush
3 Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro,[a] Midian’s priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God’s mountain called Horeb. 2 The Lord’s messenger appeared to him in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was in flames, but it didn’t burn up. 3 Then Moses said to himself, Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t burning up.
4 When the Lord saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
Moses said, “I’m here.”
5 Then the Lord said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” 6 He continued, “I am the God of your father, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. 8 I’ve come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that’s full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. 9 Now the Israelites’ cries of injustice have reached me. I’ve seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. 10 So get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”
God’s special name
13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.[b] So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
Contributed by Sharon Alexie
Exodus 3:11-12 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[a] will worship God on this mountain.”
As I read this scripture, I could relate to God calling me to do things that maybe I didn’t really want to do. But when God tells you to do something do you say, “No, I don’t think so.”? When my parents told me to do things I didn’t want to do, it was easy to say, “No”. We could have a little conversation and then they would find that I needed a little help. They could assist me, and it would get done, together. God our Heavenly Father is very much like that. All we need to do is let Him know that we can’t do it alone.
After I lost my husband and my grief calmed down, I knew that I needed to be there for those who were going through grief. God never stood there in front of me and said that He wanted me to do this, but He led me to know that this was a calling that He had for me. It was something that gnawed at me until I ordered the GriefShare materials, read through them and prepared myself to accept the challenge. I knew that God wanted me to help others find hope and purpose.
Our GriefShare is posted online with our dates, location and my phone number for the public to see. This is an outreach for our church. People who belong to other churches come to our GriefShare as well as those who have no church home.
My phone rings and on the other end of the line I hear someone crying and asking about our program. Someone died of cancer or heart disease or a wreck or a hospital mishap, or an accident, or a suicide or a murder. Sometimes it’s a spouse or a mother or a father a sister or brother or a child. Sometimes they passed away years ago and sometimes only days ago. It doesn’t matter what they bring to the table, we are there to present GriefShare, to welcome them into a Christian group that understands grief and to help them find a way to work through it.
Probably the phone calls are some of the most difficult challenges. They call to find out about the meetings, and they tell their story. Just recently I answered the phone and listened to the horrible circumstances of a very complicated death. I got off the phone and immediately yelled, GOD, YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME. WHY DID YOU PUT ME IN THIS SITUATION? WHY ME? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? I CAN’T DO THIS. YOU KNOW I CAN’T DO THIS. This person would be in my class whether I liked it or not. The next step would be to stop my little fit and start praying about it. I pretty much prayed on and off for the rest of the day. And then something happened. The overwhelming burden of the situation lifted, and I knew that God would be at every GriefShare meeting. I knew that I would not lead any meeting without Him there to guide my words and actions. I knew it was taken care of. But I did not stop there. I reached out for extra prayer. (Guess I felt like I needed a little extra insurance.) And the meetings are going well. God facilitates the meeting through me and my coleader. There is no doubt in my mind that God is there and that He is in loving control.
Sometimes we don’t like the tasks that God gives us. It is okay to get upset with Him. He can handle it. It is not for us to always understand but just to pray and accept and follow His desires for us. More than anything He wants communication with us. When we stay in communication with God, we soon find out that we don’t have to handle our burdens alone. He is there in ways we could never imagine. He knows how to take awkward situations and smooth them out. He knows how to remove our stress and insecurities.
Prayer
Dear God, keep us running to you with our problems our burdens and our insecurities. Help us to learn to pray, release our troubles to you and trust that You will manage our lives in ways that is best for us. Help us to also come to you with praise and adoration for all you do for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen
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