Exodus 11, Luke 8

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker

"God makes effort in front of us, Jesus makes effort among us."

(Exodus 11)

“Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." Vs. 2

This is the part of the story I so easily glaze over. For the Israelites, God provided their needs. He provided through the unexpected… their neighbors. Not just regular neighbors, but the very neighbors of the nation who had oppressed them. God didn’t tell the Israelites to plunder them and take what they had, He told them to ask for it. God had already gone before them (obviously) in preparing the Egyptian people. Verse 3 reminds us that Moses was highly regarded among the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s officials. When they asked. They received.

I’m encouraged by similar instruction given to us by Jesus. We were once in great need of provision and He said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

In all honesty, while it has been prophecy since the beginning, it still seems an unlikely and unexpected means (like the Egyptian neighbors). It’s unlikely because it is God himself who put on flesh and came to earth. It was the Son of God who endured such persecution and pain for our sake. He didn’t have to do this. Why would God do such a thing? Love. It breaks all the rules of normalcy. How amazing is the mind of God.

Thank you Father for your provision. I pray that we always remember that everything good is from above.

(Luke 8)

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked.” Vs.42-45

Isn’t it interesting that some of the most significant things that happen during our day are the unplanned?

In Luke 8, Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ house to heal his 12 year old daughter. Scripture clearly tells us that Jesus was on task, heading that way. As Jesus was on His way, this woman touched him. Jesus stopped and took a moment to minister to this woman. He spoke words of encouragement to her. He affirmed her in her faith. And He healed her. While this set him back a few moments, this was obviously an important task to complete.

While he was still with the woman, someone came looking for Jesus to let him know He was too late. Jairus’ daughter had died.

I fall guilty of being “on task” too much. When that is the case, I can easily miss the immediate needs around me. I can easily miss needs in my friends, in my own Spiritual life, needs in a strangers life, and what we might all consider even worse, our families needs. Most of the time this is out of fear that if I don’t stay on task, that I too, will be “too late” for whatever it is I’m doing.

I need to plan more time in my day for the unplanned. I need to look more for what God is doing AROUND me verses what He is doing THROUGH or IN me. I’m confident that what He’s doing in our lives is not the end of it. It’s only part of it. If we are called as believers to represent Christ, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, then we are called as believers to be a blessing. We are called as believers to meet needs as they arise. We are called as believers to care about those we might not naturally care about. We are called to be faithful to this calling each day. That usually takes a substantially larger amount of flexibility than we would like to give. And many times requires us to consider a change in our original plans, no matter how big they were, how long we’ve been doing them, or how confident we were that God gave them to us in the first place.

When we are faithful to that calling, we will see that God will take care of tomorrow. He will even take care of what’s next today. Now, it is true that we still have to be deliberate in planning. We have to be intentional and work hard. But we also have to be willing to be flexible when God throws in an audible. I believe there are always two faiths being sharpened in almost every experience… the one being blessed or served, and the one doing the blessing or serving. There is so much to learn on both sides.

In verse 53 it says that the people laughed at Jesus when he said that it’s not too late to save the girl. That’s certainly my problem, most of the time. I’m too worried about what I’ll miss if I slow down. I’m too worried about what “might” happen if I get off my agenda a little. Will the world come to a stop?

But Jesus told the girl to get up. And she did. God does not look at things as we do. We have to remember that our minds lean towards the temporal. God’s mind and heart leans to the eternal, because He is eternal.

Father, Help us to not miss the moments in front of us. Help us not to look to tomorrow so much, that we forget that you have tomorrow in the palm of your hand. Help us to be faithful to today. Help us to be faithful to truly love others, to encourage others, and to seek out works of service and that are about you more than they are about us.