Key verses 11:25, 26
“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Moses is an excellent character in the bible for young students to study I believe. Today, many of us grow up like Moses did. We get good educations and live in comfortable homes with people who respect and love us. That’s how Moses spent the first forty years of his life, living as a prince of Egypt. He grew up as an Egyptian, not a Hebrew like he really was. But when he found out his actual heritage, he made a decision of faith to be known as a Hebrew and not as an Egyptian, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He didn’t like what the Egyptians were doing to the Israelites. He even disliked it so much as to kill an Egyptian guard for beating a Hebrew. This led to not only the Egyptians hating him and the king soon enough wanting his head, but the Hebrews didn’t like him either because he brought judgment on them. Essentially, he was hated by both of those he had connections to and had nowhere else to go when he had to flee for his life. He escaped to the Midian country side and became a shepherd for another forty years of his life. We see that Moses didn’t just sit around inside the palace and ignore the mistreatment of God’s people. Because of his parents and their prayer for him, especially his first three months of life, God was in Moses’ life. In a time in his life where everything was going well and he was taken care of, Moses saw something wrong with the people and environment around him. He learned about who he truly was, even if it took forty years for it to happen. He made a decision of faith to follow God and his path, to trust him to keep him safe and lead him somewhere. Growing up means making decisions that may lead to times in your life that aren’t what you’re used to, or what you expect God to do with you. Moses, a former prince of Egypt, spent a third of his life in the country, herding sheep. This was a time for God to work in his life, to humble him so that Moses could become the great leader that God needed him to be.
We keep praying that student leaders would be raised at Toledo UBF. I’ve become one of those student leaders by God’s grace. Right now, I see myself in the time of peace like Moses when he was in the Egyptian palace. I have a lot of support around me from so many people and I’m in a good educational field. I’m not quite on my way to growing up like Moses yet, though it sort of feels like I am. I’ve made a few decisions of faith this past year that are helping me to humble myself and listen to God, letting my life be influenced by him and where He is leading me. I slip now and again, letting myself get caught up in worldly things and basing my decisions on something I want rather than what God may be calling me to do, thinking that I know better than those who are older and wiser than me or God himself. Clearly, I still have growing to do. I want to continue my walk with God and seek him earnestly; looking ahead to the reward he has for me like Moses did. My God knows what’s best for me, and I should make my decisions based on that, not my own understanding or desires. I shouldn’t enjoy the pleasures of sin for even a short time, learning from Moses that that one little decision of faith can make a difference for years and years after I make it. I pray that when a decision needs to be made by me, no matter how small, I may seek God and what is best by His plan, not my own mind and understanding.
One Word: Make my decisions by faith
No comments:
Post a Comment