From Prince to Frog

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. (Ex 3:1a)

In the fairy tales, the princess kisses the frog and he turns into a handsome prince. In the story of Moses, it seems at first as though God has it backwards. He takes Moses, a prince of Egypt, and turns him into a shepherd. Shepherding was a lowly profession in Egypt. Gen 46:34 tells us that shepherds were despised by the Egyptians. Imagine what Moses must have thought about the turn his life had taken. He was the prince whom God had turned into a frog! Or so it seemed. But God had a different idea. He had a bigger plan for Moses than being a pampered royal prince in Egypt. After 40 years of shepherding sheep, he was ready to be a shepherd of God’s people.

How often do I misunderstand the turns my life has taken? Illnesses, failures, disappointments – they don’t seem like the stuff of a great master plan for my life. But they are! Every hardship and every failure, if I’m willing to learn from them, molds me into the kind of man God can use for his glory. Lord, I am willing to learn. Redeem my failures by teaching me to be your obedient disciple. Lead me through the hard times and train me up as a man of faith to be your witness. Thank you, Lord, for your great plan for my life. Amen.

School of Hard Knocks

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut 8:3)

The latter half of this verse is famous because Jesus quoted it to the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness. But today it is the first half of the verse that caught my eye. To teach the Israelites this lesson he first had to humble them. God first caused them to hunger and only then did he send the manna. I am struck by the fact that he caused them to hunger. God uses our hardships to teach us, but he doesn’t necessarily just wait for a hardship to come. He sometimes brings hardship. He brings it not because he hates us, but because he loves us enough to want us to grow in our faith and character. I’ve said many times that most of the spiritual growth in my life has happened during the hard times. God’s plan for my life includes some hard times. Lord, thank you that, like a father who disciplines his son, you bring trials in my life to teach me. Like the Israelites may I learn humility and utter dependence on you. Amen.

Never Stop Growing

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen! (2 Pet 3:18)

This is Peter’s charge at the close of his second epistle. He charges us to grow. Living things are never wholly static. If they are not growing they are dead. In the same way, our faith is a living faith and it must be growing. Healthy relationships grow, too. So must our relationship with God. We are to grow in grace and knowledge. I think growing in grace means to be living out God’s love toward others “in ever increasing measure.” We do that by knowing him closer and better. If we truly know him then we love one another.