How God Uses Ordinary People for Extraordinary Purposes
By Dean Collins
If I asked you to name key Bible characters who God used to bring about his grand redemption story, I suspect you might name Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, maybe a couple prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, and you might through in some apostles, like Peter, Paul, and John. Your list might be different, but sadly many would forget to name the significant women God used to bring about his grand redemption story.
After Shiphrah and Puah courageously defied Pharaoh, God blessed them, but Pharaoh’s determination only grew stronger. In the last verse of Exodus 1, Pharaoh commanded all of his people that “every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
Chapter two unfolds with four women who ended up partnering together to save Moses, whom God would use to continue his grand plan to free the Hebrew people from bondage and continue the promises he had made to Abraham.
Though not named in Exodus 2, we know that it was Miriam, the sister of Moses, who was instrumental in making sure that Moses and his basket vessel landed safely in the hands of the servant girl of Pharaoh’s daughter. These two women are also not named. However, it would be hard to argue that Pharaoh’s daughter didn’t play a very prominent role in God’s plans. And of course, we can’t forget Jochebed, the mother of Moses, who was secretly allowed to nurse her son and care for him in his childhood before handing him over the his new Egyptian mother.
Not one of the women in this story had any idea at the time that God was guiding their steps and building a connection that would change the course of history. Both the prophet Malachi and the author of Hebrews state that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Imagine what that means in our lives. For one thing, it means that when we trust in the Lord with all of our heart and don’t simply lean on our understanding, our plans, and our solutions to life’s problems, we can rest confident that God is using us in his story.
Take a minute and look back at your life. Can you see times that God sent a stranger, a friend, or allowed you to experience a situation that, had that moment not happened, you wouldn’t be in a relationship with God today? We always see more clearly when looking back than we do looking forward. But the evidence of scripture, as well as the testimonies of our lives, are clear evidence that God is always doing big things through the little we actually have to offer him.
I am grateful for the six women mentioned in the first two chapters of Exodus who took steps of faith that resulted in freedom for the Hebrew people and advanced God’s plans, even for you and me. And note that God used some with influence like Pharaoh’s daughter and others with no power, wealth, or status.
An English poet named William Cowper wrote a line in a poem that said, “God works in mysterious ways.” I have heard that phrase many times, and the context is usually something about how surprising it was to see how God opened a door, solved a problem, or connected people. As I think about it, I think that maybe we need to consider that God’s work isn’t always that mysterious. Maybe he always works the same way. He uses people who seek him, trust him, and offer their lives to him. When we take those steps, what was once mysterious might just ring as clear as a bell!
Father, thank you for the four women who took risks to protect the life of Moses, who would deliver the Hebrews from bondage. Today, we surrender ourselves to you and ask that you would give us the courage to act and advocate for those in need of your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Tim with God’s Word
Exodus 1:22, 2:1-10 ESV
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
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