The First 15

Wednesday March 9, 2022

by Jan Davis

Today is Wednesday, March 9 and this week we are exploring what the Bible says about the nature of God.

Opening Prayer

As I begin this time of prayer, I pause and become still. I breathe slowly and deeply and focus myself entirely upon the triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, I worship you in the stillness of this new day with a grateful heart. I stand in awe and wonder of your glory and goodness. Speak to me through the power of your Holy Spirit and help me learn to hear your voice above all others. Amen.

Scripture Reading

I seek God and long for his abiding presence with the words of Psalm 42.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psalm 42:1-4


Pause and Pray

Moses is sent by fire. Standing barefoot on the holy ground of Mt. Horeb, God addresses Moses from the fire of a burning bush. God is ready to dispatch him to face a seemingly impossible future. In their brief conversation at the burning bush, the nature of God regarding human suffering is revealed. God is a God who saves. The adversity and affliction of the world does not go unnoticed by God. He is aware of it all. My challenges and difficulties do not go unnoticed by God. He is aware of it all. Whatever is going on in my life, I can find my story in the Exodus story. Whether I suffer myself or am a witness to the suffering of others, I can remember the way God handled his people in this story. My God comes and saves.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-10

Reflection

Just as God saw the misery of his people in Egypt, he keenly observes my struggles and pain. Other people may not be able to see what is hidden, but God does. God sees through closed doors and locked hearts. Not only does God see the suffering he hears the sound of it. I may not be able to hear the grumbling stomach of a hungry child, but God does. I may not be able to hear the lonely cries of a widow’s grief, but God does. I may not be able to hear the painful cries of a cancer patient, but God does. Other people may not be able to hear the cries I weep alone at night, but God does. God is concerned about the suffering of humanity and through Jesus Christ has come down to provide rescue. God wants to bring me up out of the place of my imprisonment and take me to a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey. Freedom from my distress, hope for my future.

Ask: What is my current suffering I name before God? How can I become more aware of the suffering of others?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, sometimes I feel as if I suffer in silence and bear my pain alone. You remind me that you are with me, see my distress, and hear my cries. Thank you for your concern for me in all the challenges and difficulties of my life. Come blessed Savior, rescue me from my worries, release me from my troubles, extricate me from this predicament and set my feet on solid ground. I read the words from Exodus again and listen for the message you have for me.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-10

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

As I consider the enslavement of the Hebrew people in Egypt, I ask myself what is the place of my enslavement. What is the source of my misery? The cause of pain or suffering. What is the name of my taskmaster? What has entrapped me and from what do I need rescued? God wants to speak to me about my current situation and answer my prayers. Perhaps God wants to reveal something that has me bound or imprisoned, preventing me from living the life God has for me. Maybe I am held captive by an idea, an attitude, a habit, or an old hurt. My jail cell could be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial, or professional. I consider all the places in my life where I am troubled or confined and cry out to God for relief.

Pause and Pray

God of Salvation, come down and bring me up out of my sorrowful circumstances. I invite you behind the locked doors of my mind, break open the chains of my heart, kick down the fortress of my soul, unfasten the fetters of my sin and release me from the bonds of my captivity. Set me free for the life of blessing and peace you have for me through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1-2

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Closing Prayer

I leave this time of prayer knowing that God sees my troubles and hears my cries. I go listening to the voices of pain in the world around me, eager to respond in comfort and concern.

Amen.

The First 15

Sign up to receive an email notification whenever a new devotional is posted to The First 15.