- araratchurch
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
40 “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.””
Exodus 2:16-17, 21-22 NKJV
How many know that the distance between point A and point B is not necessarily an indication of how long it will take you to get from point A to point B? And “as the crow flies,” is—in application—only a concept.
How many have ever started a day with a list of things you needed to do, and a “good plan” to get it all done? Indeed, your estimate of how long it should take to check off the list, definitely fit in the time you have to do it all. Now, that sounds great . . . except for the fact that your “good plan” got torpedoed in the first 15 minutes of execution. How did this happen?
What you did not/ could not account for were the intervening variables, things that might happen along the way: a flat tire, someone’s urgent need, a place is closed that is normally open, an “irritable” bowel, and so on, and so on.
Now, if we approached every plan, trying to think of all the contingencies that might come to bear, we probably wouldn’t ever get far past our planning into the actual doing. The fact is, you can’t account for all the unknowns.
If only we could keep from getting blindsided without doing the exercise in futility of trying to account for everything that might happen during the course of any journey.
The good news: There is One Who knows all things; and He can help you, even when unexpected events seem to have wrecked your plans. Yes, the Lord will actually provide what you need to survive the trial, the test, the detour.
Of course, all of our plans should be submitted to the Lord and we should follow His leading. But even then, life happens. But the Lord still makes a way.
“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.”
Isaiah 43:19-20 NKJV
In addition to bringing support during the “detours,” the Lord can use those things that seem to have been sent to wreck your plan, to actually work for your good, to actually be what makes the desired end result come to pass!
“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”
Romans 8:28 AMP
When we left Moses last time, he was sitting at a well in the middle of a desert, having fled for his life from Egypt. Now, bear in mind, Moses was raised in a palace where he was treated as royalty. Now he finds himself in a desert. But we see that the Lord did not forsake him, but actually gave him the opportunity to ingratiate himself to one of the leaders of a desert tribe: the Midianites.
In fact, the Midianite people were desert dwellers; so they knew how to survive and thrive in what can be a very hostile environment. Moses would now spend the next 40 years in exile in the desert with people who knew about desert survival.
I wonder, will this experience come to bear in another part of Moses’ life? Or is this all just a great nuisance?
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
The Lord will provide help during our “detours”. And, they may actually prove to not be detours at all.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!P
- araratchurch
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 13
“Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.”
Exodus 2:11-15 NKJV
Today we begin a wonderful adventure that will take us through Easter Sunday. The Lord originally sent me on this journey three years ago. Today He supernaturally directed me to take this journey with you again. I did not know (until I looked it up) that these 40 Days will take us through Easter Sunday.
Our 40 Day journey (Lord willing) will be taken together every day, beginning with today.
The journey we set off on together concerns Moses, a person who is probably one of the best known of our biblical cast of characters.
Over these next 40 days we will discover some truths Moses discovered while on his journey. In so doing, we will be better prepared for our own seasons of trials and testing.
Did you know that Moses even makes an actual appearance in the New Testament? Indeed, Moses was one of the two people appearing with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.”
Mark 9:2-4 NKJV
Moses is best known as being the leader over the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, during which time he received The Law from God.
We will assume a basic knowledge of Moses’ life, highlighting some points of instruction over the next 40 days together.
Before setting out, let us first consider that the number 40 in the Bible is generally seen in connection with a time of testing or trials, ending with a victory of some sort. Interestingly, the children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years. As well, Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai.
You are probably aware of Moses being put in the basket to save his life (after several failed attempts to control the population of the Jews, Pharaoh ordered that all Jewish newborn baby boys must be thrown into the Nile) and being taken in to be raised by the daughter of Pharaoh.
Let us take note that Moses was born to a mother and father who were both members of the tribe of Levi. As we will see, Levi was the only tribe that did not participate in the worshiping of the golden calf during the Exodus journey. Therefore, they were selected by God to serve as priests. Indeed, Moses served as a priest, or mediator, between the people and God over his 40 years of leadership.
So, Moses was rescued from certain destruction, raised by the daughter of Pharaoh, then became the leader of the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. But wait, this was not an easy journey for him.
In our opening scripture we see that Moses was moved in his emotion to do something to help his brethren.
The problem was that he acted impulsively without seeking the Lord. I can only assume that he thought his brethren would appreciate what he did for them. They didn’t.
As we see, in addition to not appreciating what he did, they actually told on him. (The only way Pharaoh could’ve heard of this matter is that one of the brethren exposed Moses.)
You can have all the good intentions in the world, but unless your zeal is informed and directed by the leading of God, you can end up doing more harm than good and experience unforeseen consequences.
God knows the end from the beginning; He knows what will fall when you pull that particular “piece”of the “Jenga puzzle” of life.
It’s wonderful to have zeal informed by God‘s direction. However, zeal without God‘s direction, can end up with you running for your life. But that’s for another day.
For today let us discover what Moses discovered:
Impulsive actions rarely end well.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!M