Today’s Verse

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.” — Exodus 3:7 NIV

Devotion

Like Abraham in the Old Testament, you were called by God to leave the place of unbelief from which you came and move to the place of belief He promised you (Genesis 12:1). You obeyed Him and you left. In New Testament terms, you became a Christian. Like Abraham, however, you wandered around the new place like a stranger in a foreign land. You lived there, but you never really settled down there. Figuratively, you lived in a tent instead of a solid house (Hebrews 11:9). You often wondered to yourself, “When will the promise come to pass? When will I take possession of the Promised Land of destiny and fulfillment?”

It got worse. Like Abraham’s descendants, you went down to the land of Egypt. It’s the place of sin and slavery. In New Testament terms, you were a carnal Christian, or a worldly Christian (I Corinthians 3:1-3). That is, you were a Christian, but it was hard to tell. The old ways of the place of unbelief you came from still had a grip on you. Further, you were far from the fulfillment of the promise. Not only were you a slave to the old ways, you were also a slave to a situation that seemed like it would never let you go, would never let you move on to the Promised Land. It was a situation of misery and suffering.

Like Abraham’s descendants, therefore, you cried out to God. You realized that you were never going to get out of there on your own. As in our verse for today, God saw your misery and He heard your cry. As a result, He set you free just like He set the descendants free. The way out could not have been foreseen. It was a miracle. With great joy and singing you left your personal version of Egypt and started the journey back to the Promised Land.

Now the Wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land lies before you. You’ll have to go through many a test and refinement there before you will reach the goal.

Nevertheless, hold on in faith and pass the tests. Know that the same God that was concerned with your suffering in Egypt is concerned with what you will have to go through on the journey ahead of you.