He Knows His Own! (Part Two)

Read: Exodus 3

Last week, we looked into the lives of Abraham and Jacob and observed a time in their lives when Almighty God called out to them by name. An incident in each of their lives when God spoke their name twice. We were reminded that the Living God Whom we serve knows His own children and that, understanding and remembering that truth soothes the ache of loneliness that we all sometimes experienced.

For today, let's see what we can learn from Moses' story. From the time when God called Him by name. Forty years. Not too many people do the same job for forty years, but that was the case for Moses. When we meet him in Exodus 3, Moses had been tensing sheep for around four decades. If we think back from today's date that would be like our working at a particular job since 1986. There has been a lot of water that has gone under the bridge since then! Imagine Moses. Little did he know that the "sheep man" was soon to become a spokesman. He would go from leading four-legged sheep to taking leadership over more than two million of the two-legged kind, but before his life changed dramatically, God gave him precious truths to tell his enslaved people who were still suffering back in Egypt.

Awesome truths that we too can take for our own. Reminders concerning the omniscience, omnipotence and love of the LORD. First of all, it is interesting to me that when God spoke to Moses, Moses sees to have been content with his lot in life. Often when God calls someone by name, it is because that one is the lonely or discouraged one. That was not the case with Moses. It was his people who needed to be buoyed up more than Moses did. He wasn't suffering under the last as were the people back in Egypt, but God had a message that Moses' people needed to hear. There is a special loneliness that is experienced by people who are hurting and weary. People who wonder if anyone knows what they're feeling or if anyone cares. What beautiful words the LORD has to give them. The One Who had made a covenant with Abraham is the One Who said that He had seen the pain they had suffered. He had heard their cries, and He wanted them to know that there was a plan in place. Their harsh bondage would end. In addition to that, He gave Moses a promise. They would have a beautiful land of their own. They would leave Egypt supplied with gold, silver and clothing. They were not alone, and though they hadn't seen God's hand at work, they had never been out of God's sight. The best thing about this message Moses was given is that it was backed up by the One Who cannot lie, Titus 1:2 and Who also has the power to accomplish everything that is in His heart, Psalm 115:3; therefore, the people did take possession of the land, along with receiving all that God had promised, 1 Kings 8:56.

What can we take from Moses' story in Exodus 3? How does what God told him help us during lonely times? How does it help someone whom God might place in our paths who feels all alone? How does a person come to know the Living God Whom Moses knew? The God Who called him to be the leader of His people and then enabled him to be victorious over those who tried to thwart God's plan?

Loneliness buster:

Jesus is the answer to the above questions. The One Who became flesh and lived on earth among us, John 1:14. Talk about loneliness. He experienced it to a degree that we can't imagine. When? When He hung on the cross and He became sin. When because of that, His Father turned His back on the Savior. A loneliness without limits, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Mark 15:33-34. What does this mean for us? If we are His born-again children, John 3:3, we know we can run to Him for strength and understanding when we are lonely. He understands like no one else truly can. He also has experienced all that we have. Yet He never sinned, Hebrews 4:14-16.

What about the myriads of people who are around us who feel as if they are adrift? What if they don't belong to Jesus? Telling them that they are seen by God and that He cares will help for the moment, but if they don't belong to God's family, John 1:12-13, in the long run, we have merely put a band-aid on their gaping wound. Even as I type that, I wonder if it sounds harsh. I surely don't mean it to be. However, the sweet truth that God is concerned for the hurting is meant to open the door of understanding that speaks about the cross. God's complete answer for every kind of loneliness that people experience. Without the cross, there is hope only for this lifetime. Simply knowing some truths about the Lord without receiving the redemption He is offering won't make us new creations, 2 Corinthians 5:17. However, when we allow God to make us new, we will discover and rediscover that the One Who knows us best loves us the most. Another loneliness buster! from the One Who truly knows His own!