Trusting God to Work
“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee;” (Exodus 3:10-12)
After so many years in Midian, away from Pharaoh’s family line, Moses may have abandoned the idea of God using him to deliver Israel. Then one day, God appeared and told Moses He would use him. God did not tell him everything that would happen; Pharaoh making things worse, or the plagues. He did say, “Certainly I will be with thee;” God told him what he needed to know: that God was with him. God also didn’t need Moses to be in Pharaoh’s family line to deliver Israel. He was God.
An event happened during Jesus’ ministry which was similar in a way. Near a water pool in Jerusalem “..lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” (John 5:3-4)
Jesus asked a man at the pool who had been infirm thirty-eight years, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6) The man said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” (John 5:7) He obviously thought the only way to be healed was by the pool. Yet Jesus didn’t need the pool. He was God. He said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” “And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked:” (John 5:8-9)
In the story of Moses and the Exodus, God worked in the life of a nation. Israel is the nation mentioned most in Scripture, but God cares about other nations, too. In fact, God’s dealings with Israel are somewhat of an example of how God deals with nations in general. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” The verse says “a nation” and “any people,” so it’s not just about Israel. Righteousness makes any nation great, while sin brings any nation to reproach and shame.
In the story of Jesus and the infirm man, God worked in the life of an individual. The man Jesus healed was obviously no one important in the earthly sense. For all those thirty-eight years, no friend or relative had offered to get him down to the pool first after the water was troubled. Yet he was important to Jesus.
God can still work on nations. America was founded on faith in God. Yet sin and lack of respect for God and His word are rampant nowadays and bring reproach and shame. Is there hope for America? Yes. If there’s life, there’s hope: “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:” (Ecclesiastes 9:4)
What can Christians do? We can pray for leaders. We can ask God to convict them about their political conduct and about their souls. Leaders have souls. We can also strive to live right and share Christ with individuals. We know that when God’s word goes out, “…it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,” (Isaiah 55:11) We also know that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) Never underestimate the power of God’s word or prayer.
We don’t know what God will do, but we can be sure He is with us. Jesus said, “…I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20) God’s biggest priority for people in America is the same as for people everywhere else: that they have eternal life. If you want to see from the Bible how to have forgiveness of your sins and eternal life by receiving Jesus Christ, God the Son, as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 12/5/2023
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822