Reading Exodus I constantly prayed the same prayer I did during Genesis, it is now just a habit to ask God to teach me through His word. Out of everything I write in these I think that prayer is the biggest lesson to take away… I can tell you everything I got from each book, and put the exact verses I got that idea from, but that’s what I got out of it. If everyone knew how to get the most out of everything they read, just imagine how faithful the world would be. My goals in writing these are 1) to help me so I have somewhere to come back to, where I can remember everything I learned, but 2) to help everyone reading. Maybe something I say will speak to you, or someone reads this and decides to start a relationship with God. I don’t know how this will affect anyone who reads, but if it helps just 1 person grow closer to God, then it is worth it.
I will start this off with a simple statement: God is king. At the time, the Egyptian king had told the Hebrews that if they had a girl she could live, but if they had a boy they had to kill Him. That was NOT what God wanted, and the midwives feared God, so they obeyed God and disobeyed the king of Egypt. God rules over everything, and there may be times that to follow God you will have to go against another authoritative figure, but God is the ultimate king. (Exodus 1:17).
Don’t attack anyone. I know these seem so self explanatory, but when we really think about how we live, we may not live by them. The key word in that statement was anyone. People will be in the wrong and do bad things, but we aren’t to attack them, rather we are even called to love them. When I struggle with this I refer back to the popular saying; love the person, hate the sin. Don’t label a person by their sin. (Exodus 2:13).
Be kind and selfless. You never know what someone is going through, and doing, or not doing. The most simple task to you may be a HUGE deal for them. We don’t tend to think of it often, but what seems so simple for us, someone else might not even be capable of. For example, when I need to get something off the top shelf at a grocery store is not a big deal for me, I might have to get on my toes, but that’s it. My mom on the other hand needed to get something off the top shelf at Tractor Supply not too long ago, and no one was around so she had to find a bucket to stand on. Moses came across a couple girls attempting to water their flock, and they were having a difficult time, but Moses was able to quickly and relatively easily water the flock for the girls. (Exodus 2:17).
God hears, God remembers, God sees, and God knows. Don’t lose faith. I talked about how God does not forget us, but He forgets what we put our worth and importance in, and needs us to remind Him sometimes. God hears us when we pray, and remembers what He promised and what we feel is important, which brings attention to it for Him to see what exactly we are going through, and then He KNOWS what He needs to do to help us. (Exodus 2:24).
God comes to us in mysterious ways, so do not limit Him, and always be listening for Him. I think sometimes we have a certain time and place where we expect God to talk to us, I know I do. I talk to Him the most at night, I tell Him about my day and exactly how I was feeling and what has been heavy on my heart… all the things, so naturally that’s where I expect Him to talk to me too. God talks to us constantly though, and not always directly. I haven’t gotten very personal on these. Normally I just say the lesson and may give an example from my life, but not really entire stories, and I don’t think as of so far you’ve seen much of ME, but one thing about me is that recently I have grown in my faith greatly, which I think is why I have been able to find the words to write these. With that growth in my faith though (getting back on track here), I have realized that God talks through your situations, or other people, or through nature, or directly, or through your heart. He does not limit Himself to how He reaches you, so don’t limit Him. (Exodus 3:4).
God sometimes needs us to go to Him for Him to tell us something. He wants us to notice Him before He speaks. He does things to bring us closer to Him, sure, but He needs us to get there before He tells us. Think of a video game… you have to complete a level or get to a certain person or place in the game to get your next clue. You don’t just get all the clues at the very beginning of the game. God’s the same way! He has plenty to tell us, but He wants us to get to a specific place in life first. (Exodus 3:4).
God has a plan for you. I hear this so often, and I get it. Sometimes it’s hard to believe. Maybe you’re in a waiting season, maybe you’re at a standstill, maybe you feel like you’re going in circles, or maybe you feel like you’re not doing enough. That’s where faith comes in though. We know, because we’ve been told that God has a plan for us, and while we may not know what He is doing, we do know He is using us and His timing is everything. Maybe we need prep time, or maybe more just needs to happen. I struggled with this for a while, constantly thinking, “I know you have a plan for me, but you haven’t used me for anything yet, or told me what I will be doing, so I don’t know what I need to do.” I was saying I knew He had a plan for me, but because I did not know what it was I was doubting Him. Indirectly, but still doubting. In my case I still don’t know what all He wants me to do, but I do know He wanted me to learn more about Him before I worked for Him. Everything I put in these are something I have learned, and spent time on while I read, so y’all are actually helping me and participating in my journey to live for God, and glorify Him. (Exodus 3:10).
God is with you, worship and praise Him with others. This is something that I actually struggle with A LOT. If you put me at church and told me worship and praise, then I have no problem, but worshipping Him publicly when He does something for me is another story. I have no problem telling someone I am a Christian, and I believe God is the highest power. He had a son Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, then died on the cross for our sins. I can say that any time, but thanking God for what He did in the moment when others are watching… hmm not as easy. God told Moses straight out that when he brings the Israelites out of Egypt, and saves them he is to begin worshipping. God knew that once Moses started worshipping others would too, and I think that sometimes we get nervous to start something. Everyone craves it, everyone wants it, but no one wants to start it. Why? Well you stand out. Just like in traffic when people need to merge into one lane… there’s always people who wait until the last minute, and that's what causes the traffic, and everyone loves it when someone drives in the middle of the two lanes so that no one can make it to the front of the line, but most people don’t want to do it. This is the same way. A lot of people enjoy worshipping, but few are brave enough to start the worship. (Exodus 3:12).
We’re only on chapter 3… wow! I say that just because often it seems difficult to get applicable lessons from the old testament (the idea makes sense, Jesus isn't there yet, there’s a lot of traditions that just aren’t done today, and the world is just SO different), but when you dive in, and ask God to show you what He wants you to see, there are lessons everywhere! Exodus 3:14 says:
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
It says God replied, but by the caps I’m assuming He yelled. God wanted it to be very clear that He is who He is, and I actually did a bit more research on this, and what I came up with is that He was saying there is no equivalent to Him. He is greater than all else, and nothing even comes close. Know God, and know His presence. Knowing Him is more than just knowing who He is.
I’m including this one mainly because it makes me smile. God mentions milk and honey a few times in this book, and He just makes them sound so sweet. It gives me that “sitting by a fireplace around Christmas time when it’s cold out with a batch of warm cookies next to you” feeling. It reminded me of a fall time pinterest post. It was so small, so simple, yet so impactful, and I just want to remember to show gratitude towards everything, no matter how small, it is all a blessing from God. (Exodus 3:18).
God knows everything before it happens. I think that is kind of common knowledge, and we see prophecies all the time throughout the bible, but not once was God wrong. With that knowledge, we should have a deeper confidence in Him, because we know that He has a plan for us, and knows exactly what will happen including how others will feel and act towards us.
(Exodus 3:19-22).
Trust in God, He knows how to help you. Live for Him even when it is uncomfortable. I read Luke a while back, and there was a verse that talked about if you allow the Holy Spirit to live in you, then it will put you in the right places and tell you what to say. This is saying almost the exact same thing! God told Moses to save the Israelites from Egypt, and while Moses was faithful to God he was afraid others would not be. God said,
“Who places a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” -Exodus 4:11.
When you are glorifying God, He will help you. Live for Him. In everything you do, do it for Him, and listen for what He wants you to do, and what His plan is for you. If you are doing everything for Him, He will help you in everything you do. Moses was about to go save the Israelites for God, and was doubting his own ability, so God got his brother Aaron to help with the speaking portion. (Exodus 4:14-17).
When you invite God into your heart He will give you peace and protection. There’s starting to be a theme… when you live for God, when you allow God into your heart, when you glorify God… God can and will give you everything you could ever imagine and more, but first you need to be for Him. He already loves you and wants you, but He wants you to want Him too. This book really puts that message on display time and time again. God wants us to be for HIM! (Exodus 4:18-20).
God gives you power, and can control your heart. He hardened Pharaoh's heart so that the Israelites and Egyptians could see how powerful He is. If He can harden Pharaoh's heart when he would be suffering for it, He can soften someone's heart now. For a long time and even now just less I struggled with forgiving others. I could move on, have friendly conversations, but I never actually forgave them. I would not look at them with fresh eyes and an open heart. Knowing that God can actually change and rule over someone’s heart even if they are not for Him is what changed me. I can now forgive people much easier. God gave me the power of forgiveness through the knowledge that He can change one's heart. (Exodus 4:21).
Don’t keep God or what He says a secret! If you don’t know God then I’m so glad you’re here and I hope and pray you will be able to see how good He is, and take something good away from this :). If you do know God and how good He is, then why would you want to keep that just to yourself? You know that His love does not run out, and that He and everything near Him is all good, so why wouldn’t you want that for others? He does, so you should too. Share God and His love every opportunity you get. (Exodus 4:28).
God sees you, AND pays attention to you, so worship Him. I know a lot of people, and see even more, but often I don’t pay much attention to them. I even ignore the people I am close to sometimes, but God is better. He pays close attention to everyone He sees, and for that we should worship Him. He will get to know us if we let Him, and go to Him, so let Him know you and worship Him, for He is good.(Exodus 4:31).
It is not an easy path to follow God, and people will be hated for following Him. Yeah… not as comforting as some of the other lessons, but the good news is that it never has been easy, and God is in your corner to help you get through, and we know the reward. Whenever you start getting close to God, bad things often start to happen, the Devil is fighting for you, so it makes sense, but always remember that what the devil means for evil God can turn to good. Just make sure to identify when Satan is fighting for you, and never lose faith in God. (Exodus 5:9).
Make sure you always go to God. Sometimes we think that we should go to a certain person to solve a problem we have rather than going to God, but you won’t get the results you actually need. You may get a temporary solution, but not a solid one. The Israelites were struggling and went to Pharaoh instead of God for help (Pharaoh was the enemy in this story anyways, so really they were going to the enemy), and they still struggled, but eventually they did go to God, and that is when their problems were truly solved. (Exodus 5:15).
God is Lord and He hears you, and remembers you. Talk to Him, cry to Him, sing for Him, do everything for Him, and He will hear you. I’ve said before that God needs to be reminded of what we find important to us on Earth, and the way to remind Him is by being near Him, and telling Him. From there He WILL hear you and remember. (Exodus 6:2-5).
Throughout Genesis there were a lot of lessons, and they were pretty widely accepted already, and they were pretty random. In Exodus there’s still a lot of lessons, but they tend to be a lot about God and who He is. We learn so much about Him through how He treated Moses, and the Egyptians. God will help, save, rescue, and redeem you with open arms and be your God. He blatantly says “I will be your God.” -Exodus 6:7. That right there speaks a lot to me. I could tell someone that I will be their sister, and whether I tell that to my brother or my friend, I am committing to something. A definition of sister is
Sister: n. a close female friend or associate, especially a female fellow member of a labor union or other organization.
Well God told us He will be our God, and He is making a commitment to us. A few definitions of God are: an adored, admired, or influential person, the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being, and a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity. He is committing to be all of these things for us. Part of that is being our helper, savior, rescuer, redeemer, and father. He has an unchanging love, and He proves that by being our God.
Trust God even during hard seasons. I just said that God told us He would be our God, and that isn’t a conditional statement. He will be our God no matter what is going on. We are conditional, but He is not, so what reason do we have not to trust Him? (Exodus 6:9).
There’s a common theme that God is Lord. I gave y’all a couple definitions of God, but not only is He our God, He is also our Lord. So in fashion I have some definitions of Lord.
Lord: n. someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler.
v. act in a superior and domineering manner toward. (Exodus 6:29).
God is more powerful than anything else. There will be things that will try to disprove that or act as equal. Aaron had a staff that God would bless and he could do something unworldly (the 10 plagues for example), and Pharaoh had some magicians that would try to do the same thing, and sometimes they could, but sometimes they couldn’t, because God is more powerful than anything and anyone else. There is no equal. (Exodus 7:12).
Anything is possible with God. Things that seem so far-fetched and impossible, and even unheard of, are possible with God. Through God, Aaron was able to turn The Nile River’s water into blood. That’s not even something we would think of doing, and no one could do that alone, but God had something to prove (himself), and He knew the only way others would know He was all powerful was if He did something unheard of. Don’t let that lesson go to waste on you. I used this example, but all 10 plagues that occurred were examples of God proving who He is and how powerful He is so that people would not doubt Him. (Exodus 7:20-21).
Everything you do will affect others. I think it is so important to realize how impactful and influential you are. We may do things that we probably shouldn’t because they seem small or like a victimless act, but in actuality they are not. Others are always watching whether we know it or not, and every action influences someone else. Simply smiling will influence someone's day, and so will any statement you make. Think of all the times someone is reminiscing with you and brings up a memory you don’t even remember. Something that you don’t even remember is influencing them way later. Be aware and intentional in everything you do knowing it can and will affect someone else. (Exodus 7:24).
God blesses you so that you will worship Him. He says that He is a jealous god. Who can blame Him though? I mean He is good, He is love, He is grace, He is peace… you get the point. Everything good He is, so of course He wants us to be for Him and worship Him. He blessed most of us with a country that gives us the freedom to love, and worship Him. Let's not take those freedoms for granted, and let's worship Him! He even told Pharaoh, Let my people go so they may worship me. -Exodus 8:1.
As the LORD had said. I don’t have just one address for that, because it is at the end of nearly every paragraph throughout chapters 7 and 8. When a statement is repeated as many times as that was, I figure there’s an importance tied to it, so I dug in to see. God is always right. Anything He says (good or bad) will come to pass. I love to tell people I’m never wrong, but even I am occasionally wrong (no one and I mean NO ONE is allowed to tell my dad I admitted that), but all jokes aside God is the one person who truly never is wrong. Everything He says will happen just as He says, so do not lose faith.
There’s a difference between Christians and non-Christians. I know you’re thinking “Yeah Elizabeth duh… Christians believe in God, and that Jesus was His son who came to Earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose 3 days later.” and yes that's true, but God made a distinction between them, and protected His people. When you meet someone who is a real Christian and lives for Jesus, you can tell so quickly, and God did that on purpose and protects those people. (Exodus 8:22-23).
God keeps His word. He never makes a promise that He doesn’t keep, and that is why I can take so much comfort in His word. I know that I know that God will never wake up one day and decide He doesn’t like one of the promises He made, and change it. With that being said, know His truth and trust Him unconditionally. (Exodus 8:24).
Give people the opportunity to do right. This sort of goes hand and hand with forgiveness at least in some cases. In this particular case, God would tell Pharaoh what He would do if Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go, but then give him time to release them and do what was right before punishing the Egyptians. Let’s modernize this for a second, if someone does us wrong time and time again, we typically don’t want to give them another opportunity, because they could hurt us again, but God wants us to give them another opportunity to allow them to do right, and it will be easier for us (or at least this has made it easier for me, because often I think of it as giving them another chance to hurt me) if we keep in mind that God can change hearts. (Exodus 8:28).
Soften your heart. While God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart on purpose, we do see how bad it really was. It’s easy to close off your heart, especially when you are in an uncomfortable position. I do that often, I can keep an open heart but when I feel like I am on shaky ground I close it off, because in times like those (where it's actually most important to soften it and keep it open) I try to keep as many constants in my life as possible. If I have learned anything from testimonies it is that God gives His biggest blessings and changes in the most desperate times, so no matter your circumstances have a soft and open heart. (Exodus 8:32).
There’s no one like me on the whole earth -Exodus 9:14
I talked earlier about how God has a plan for all of us, but even more than that He gave us all a purpose. We are to glorify Him and make Him known. There’s a million ways to do that, which is why He has a specific plan for all of us. Some people reach millions of people, but others may only reach one or two people, but if you can bring even just one person closer to God then you have done wonders. I don’t write most of the scriptures that I get these from for a number of reasons, but there are a few that are so straight forward and powerful that I do like to, and this is one of them. Everything I just explained God said in one simple statement. I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth. -Exodus 9:16.
Fear God, and know that He gives you time to prepare. He will never put you in a position that you were not ready for, or couldn’t be ready for if you trusted and feared Him. Before each plague He told Pharaoh what He was going to do, and how to avoid it, but because he did not fear God, he was not prepared and suffered. When we listen to God and live for Him, we will be prepared for anything and everything that is put our way. (Exodus 9:20).
God talks through others. A while ago I said not to limit God and how He will communicate, and now I am giving an example of just one way He communicates. He will tell others what to say so that you can get your message through someone else. We know from earlier that He gives you the words to speak, so doesn't it make perfect sense that He would put in another message when talking to someone specific? He told Moses who to talk to and exactly what to say to get His message out, so once again just make sure to always be listening for God. (Exodus 9:35).
Celebrate God. More simple than some of the lessons, but still super important. God talks quite a bit about festivals He wanted for Him in the bible, and what holidays He wanted celebrated, and I think that gets forgotten sometimes, because we don’t still have those same festivals and holidays. When I say celebrate I do not necessarily mean to throw a whole party and do the whole Christmas or Easter season. Those are super special occasions, but you can still celebrate on your own. Whenever someone in my family does something better than normal, like getting a promotion or getting accepted into something they have been trying to get into, we all may go out for dinner or ice cream, or even a weekend vacation to celebrate. We can do the same thing for God! He constantly does wonders in our lives, so every once in a while when He does something big or even something small but impactful, celebrate Him. You can go out to dinner and everyone talks about the blessings they have experienced, or you could just simply worship for longer than normal. Whatever it is, celebrate!! (Exodus 10:9).
For anyone not very familiar with Exodus and the 10 plagues God put on Egypt, I will give a quick overview. Pretty much, Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt, and was horrible to the Hebrews or Israelites. The Israelites were faithful, and good people that God favored, so He went through Moses and Aaron to save them. During that time He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that He could show His power, and what He did were such unworldly tasks that God knew they would be known for generations upon generations. I just summarized like 15 chapters into 3 sentences, so you know… very quick overview. Pharaoh had a habit of repenting during a plague, so that God would stop it (The plagues are: water turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the killing of firstborn children… very extreme and uncomfortable). While I was reading this, it was obvious that Pharaoh did not actually love God, and he was not repenting for what he did, rather so that everything would stop. I was easily able to tell that that wasn’t right, but when I sit back to look at it, we all do that in a way. When do you talk to God the most, when you’re going through a hard time and need a miracle, or when everything is going well? Most likely when you need Him. Let’s learn from Pharaoh’s mistakes and always repent and always go to God no matter what is going on. (Exodus 10:16-17).
Do not “half-worship,” rather worship God fully, whole-heartedly, and properly. God doesn’t want us to just make do or be half in when we are talking, singing, or fellowshipping. Whatever we do for Him, do it with full effort. For reference, we will use a track race… you practice day in and day out, and while you work hard, most days you are not running full speed and you don’t spend your entire day preparing for practice, but when race day comes, you make sure every meal you eat is good, and you wear your special socks, and you are fully focused on the race and nothing else. God is our race. We need Him every single day, and everything we do for Him needs to be across the finish line and with all of our attention and effort. (Exodus 10:25-26).
God gives us the answers. Whether we know exactly what He is saying or not, He has the answers and eventually we will know and understand them. God told the Israelites what to say (seeing a common theme?) when future generations asked about everything that had happened, and what Passover is before anyone ever asked. He knows before it ever happens, and He has the answers. (Exodus 12:26-28).
God helps you when you obey Him. God has so much power, and can do anything with your life. He can literally move mountains, so believe that He can change your life. All He wants is for you to go to Him, and trust Him with all your heart. If you do that He will bless and help you beyond what you could even imagine. He did just that with the Israelites thousands of years ago. (Exodus 12:50).
The LORD brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. -Exodus 13:3.
Everything God does is good. He keeps His word, and makes every situation good. It may not seem good to us at the beginning, but God’s plan is bigger and better, and He knows what the end result will be, and He knows how to make it so so sweet. We are taught that good is a basic word and when writing we should use stronger words, and for the most part it’s true, but I think the simplicity of it makes it very powerful, so with that God is good all the time. (Exodus 13:5).
Everything God does He does with so much intention. He created and explained Passover in such detail, and when you look at what it is, every part of it is symbolic of something with the Israelites in Egypt. We should all try to make each one of our thoughts and actions so intentional. Don’t just think or do something without being fully aware and purposeful with it. Baby steps of course, so start with thinking before you act, and having a thoughtful purpose for each action, and from there slowly even your thoughts will become purposeful. It takes time and effort, but it will all be worth it. (Exodus 13-15).
When you start living for God, and following His path things will most likely become hard. It is what turns so many people away, but it is also what is so life changing. Think of any testimonies you have heard. You see God and His blessings in them, but you have probably never been envious of the path that got them to see those blessings. Well, sometimes God takes us down the “harder” route because He knows what the “easy” route actually holds. Follow the path that God lays down before you, and know that sometimes what seems so much harder may just end up being 1000x easier. (Exodus 13:17-18).
I feel like most everyone has heard this a million times, but I’ll be the one to tell you for the 1,000,001st time: God is always guiding you, and He is the one constant in your life that you can count on. He will watch over you and lead you through the lightest, and the darkest of times. Look to Him to lead you, and lean on Him knowing that even while everything may be changing He never will. (Exodus 13:21-22).
I said earlier that God has a very specific plan for each of us. He has this master plan to glorify Him. We know what He can do, and He wants us to spread that so that more people can be with Him. Knowing that He has a plan is only step one. Step two is listening to that plan, and step three is trusting that plan. Depending on where you are in your journey will tell you where you are. Do you know that God has a plan for you? If so, step two and three can overlap, because sometimes you have to trust a plan that you don’t know about yet, but you can always be listening for that plan. Listening isn’t always with your ears, especially with God. Most of the time it is with your heart, so once you know that God has a plan for you, open your heart and listen for that plan. (Exodus 14:4).
There’s a quote, and I am sure you've heard it, but it says the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. So often we appreciate something after we have lost it. Every morning when you wake up, thank God for everything you have… in detail. Do what you can to be appreciative of everything you have, because I promise it is a horrible feeling to realize what you had after you have lost it, so do whatever you can to be thankful and show gratitude WHILE you have something, don’t let it pass you by. (Exodus 14:5).
We are not supposed to live in fear, but we are human so we do run into fear. When that happens, sprint to God. Run full speed towards Him so that He can comfort you, and fight your fears. God tries to keep us as far away from fear as possible, because He knows that fear causes doubt. When you go to God during times of fear you are fighting that doubt. Fight your problems with God. Give them to God. Our purpose here is to glorify God, so do not harbor anything from your own life, just spread His light and give Him EVERYTHING else. I went a bit off topic there, but I thought it was an important statement. Give God your fears, so that you do not run into doubt. (Exodus 14:10-12).
“Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; The LORD will fight for you, and you must be quiet.” -Exodus 13-14. WOW WOW WOW!!! That is one of my favorite verses ever, so let’s break it down. The first part is do not be afraid. We hear that so often in the bible, and it is such a simple and straight forward command. Just don’t be afraid, but in this verse God kind of gives us steps on how to do that. Stand firm and see the LORD’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today.
Salvation: n. preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.
deliverance from sin and its consequences
I wanted to make sure to include that definition, because it was a word I heard often, but for a long time never looked it up. It was just one of those “God words.” So far now we have: Do not be afraid, stand firm and watch God protect you from sin and keep you out of harm's way. Then it says that He will accomplish it for you today. Wow, that's powerful! It is saying if you stand firm in your belief and trust in God you can watch Him protect you TODAY. You don’t have to wait, because He protects you everyday. Then it says The LORD will fight for you. This is the kind of stuff that can get me emotional. God WILL (it doesn’t say might, or if He feels like it, it says will) fight for you. Think about that. The most powerful, loving, and kind being out there will fight for YOU. Now the last part, you must be quiet. Anyone who knows me much at all knows that, well I don’t stay quiet often, I love talking, it might just be my favorite thing to do. In this case though, being quiet means that you do not try to interrupt what God is doing. We get nervous and unintentionally stop trusting God, because we think we see something bad coming towards us, but God has already seen that and knows how to fight it, so we need to sit back and let Him. So a real quick rewrite of this verse is, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and watch God protect you from sin and keep you out of harm’s way today. He will fight for you, but you must let Him.” I just can't get over the power just a few sentences have!
God gives everyone a power, it is part of His plan for you, so use it. Moses would cry out to God, but God gave Him so much power through staff, that Moses could control it easily. God trusted Moses with that power, and knew what all He was capable of. He wanted Moses to use the staff, just as He wants you to use the powers He gave you. If you are not sure what those powers are, then pray about it. God reveals things in His timing, so even if you don’t know what your power is yet know that when the time is right you will. (Exodus 14:15-16).
God is so powerful. I know you’re thinking “yeah Elizabeth, duh,” but I have an example to go with it, and it is just a little reminder :). It’s an example that you’ve probably also heard about 10,000 times, but it is just so amazing. The Israelites were escaping the Egyptians, and God PARTED THE SEA. I mean who can say that’s not the coolest thing ever? They needed to get away, so through Moses, He split the sea so they could easily walk across, and closed the sea up right behind them so that the Egyptians could not reach them. That is just cool and shows so much power. No one else in the whole world could do something like that. (Exodus 14:22).
Before I even start this next few paragraphs I want to recommend that you read chapter 15. It’s just SO SO good. Here’s a link to an ESV version. https://biblia.com/bible/esv/exodus/15 It’s not a super long chapter, and it is definitely worth the read.
Sing to, and praise God constantly because He is so good. I’ll get a little personal here, but I think that often when we think of singing to God we think of singing in church, or with a group, or at least with the song and a band playing on your phone and you singing along. I don’t want to take away from that at all, but the other day I had said something in my prayer about just feeling like I had a broken heart and not like I just went through a rough breakup with a guy or anything, but I felt alone and broken and I was trying to put these weird and overwhelming feelings into words. When I said that I thought of the song Break my Heart written by Clint Rhodes, here's a link to the lyrics https://frommyplantohis.com/2014/11/06/break-my-heart/ . I started singing it or at least the parts I could remember alone in the quiet of my bedroom. I sang that song until I fell asleep, but when I woke up I felt fulfilled. Please please please do not forget to have your own relationship and worship time with God. (Exodus 15:1-2).
Y’all. This chapter is just so good. I feel like writing something for every verse because it shares so much truth and love. I won’t, but if you didn’t read it earlier I encourage you again now to read it. If you did read it earlier, I encourage you to read it again now. I do want to bring a little extra attention to the fact that God is ready for us. He has prepared an eternal home for us already, and has made it perfect. God will reign forever even if this world does not seem to recognize that. Fight Satan’s lies and know God’s truth. He is so excited for you to spend forever with Him, He has created a special spot just for you, all you have to do is love Him back. (Exodus 15:17-18).
God heals. He can heal anything. Nothing is too big for God, so give Him your biggest battles. God does not just heal physical things such as being sick, or having a broken bone ect. ect., but also internal things. He healed my heart that night it felt broken. He has healed my doubts, sadness, stress, everything. Do not limit God. Give Him your battles and trust that He will come to heal you. (Exodus 15:26).
Live 100% for God. Uncomfortability brings negative thoughts and feelings when you are not. No one likes being uncomfortable, but when you are truly for God you can be uncomfortable but still have a fulfilled heart and soul. The Israelites knew God, but they did not trust Him, and weren’t living for Him. After they escaped the Egyptians, they ran into a lack of food, which brought them to an uncomfortable situation (they were hungry), and because they were not 100% for God, it caused them to wish they had died earlier. Had they been living for God, they most likely would have been so excited to have made it out of Egypt, and trust that God would have them covered. Spoiler alert: He did have them covered. (Exodus 16:3).
God hears, provides, and tests all at the same time. The king of multitasking. He heard that the Israelites were hungry, so He provided them with bread, but on the sixth day they were to bring in twice as much as they normally do so that they could rest on the sabbath. Trust Him, and know that He will provide for you, but at the same time do as He says. (Exodus 16:4-5).
God is always with you. I have a little story to go with this scripture… the day I read this I had broken down in tears feeling alone and just sad. I pulled out my bible which was on a chair next to me and cried on it. Eventually I was calm enough to open in and just dove into the word, and God revealed Himself then. The overwhelming feelings came very much out of nowhere and it was weird because I just had so much emotion hit me without warning, but this scripture which says, There in a cloud the LORD’s glory appeared. -Exodus 16:10. God is with us during everything. Always. I knew that I wasn’t actually alone, my family was even in the room, but I had this overwhelming feeling, so that I could see this lesson and His love.
Be humble, not greedy, and you will be rewarded. I want to do things because it’s the right thing to do, not because I will get rewarded, but God does very clearly tell us that we will be rewarded for doing the right thing. He doesn’t want us to have a bunch of profit for ourselves, but rather give to others. Help those around you, and use what you are given for good. (Exodus 16:18).
Don’t lose sight of the sabbath. This book reflects on the sabbath A LOT. God wants a day to be set aside for Him only. We are often so tired, and overwork ourselves, and occasionally I’m sure we are all a bit lazy, but God already gave us the solution. Use Sunday as a day of rest. Wake up early and work hard Monday-Saturday, but when Sunday rolls around restore yourself. Focus solely on God, and rest so that you will be fresh for the next week. (Exodus 16:23).
Listen to and accept what God says. We don’t always exactly like what He says especially during the moment, but we do need to trust Him and know that what He is saying is in our best interest. Keep your heart and ears open to hear God, and when He says something truly accept it, and live by His commands. (Exodus 16:28-29).
Complaining is testing God. When you complain you are (maybe indirectly) saying that He has not given you enough, or you are doubting that you will get what you need. God gave the Israelites so much, including an entire new life, but they were so quick to complain when they were even slightly uncomfortable. It reminds me of myself during the freeze. I had a house, a working fireplace, food, health, and plenty of blankets. I didn’t have power for 3 days, but I was cold, so the entire time I hid under all 8 of my blankets and waited for days to pass. I wasn’t acting very grateful for all the things I did have, rather I just focused on what I did not. Be thankful, and don’t complain. (Exodus 17:2).
I am going to stand there in front of you. -Exodus 17:6. God leads us and stands with us. It’s something so simple, yet so impactful. You are never alone, and He is always there to guide you and comfort you. <3
Put all your faith in God, and praise Him beforehand. When you are faithful in God with a deeply rooted faith, not a surface level or circumstantial faith, you KNOW that God will provide, and protect you. I heard once to thank God for doing something before He has done it, rather than asking Him. For example, if you are hungry and having a hard time getting food your prayer could be, “Thank you God for hearing that I am hungry and providing me with food,” rather than what is more common, “God, please provide me with food because I am hungry.” The difference between those two prayers is the amount of faith you have. In the first one you know that God hears you and provides for you, therefore you are thanking Him for something that He will do, rather than the second where you may know that He hears, but you are not confident that He will provide for you. I struggled with this concept for a while, because we know that God has plans for us and that sometimes it is not what we have planned, and I thought that praying that way was more of telling God to do something than asking, but after much thought and research I realized that if you are living for God then your wishes will be His wishes. Praising God before He has done something is a way for you to prove your faith in Him to yourself and God. (Exodus 17:16).
Be a servant. This has been what I have been working on the most recently. It is not natural for me to want to do for others, especially if I have to go out of my way to do it, and I like to decide who is deserving of what. I know that is not right, and now whenever I get an opportunity to help someone I literally pause and say “be a servant,” then tell them yes with a genuine smile, and without complaint. Of course it is a work in progress so it does not always go down like that, but it does more often than it used to. Being a servant is not only doing something when someone asks or tells you to though, it is helping whenever you can, and not for anything in return. Do what you can to help others, and no matter how big or small the favor, put all of your effort into it. (Exodus 18:7).
I said this before, but this book tells a lot of who God is, and once again we see that He is a rescuer. The Israelites faced so many hardships, but God stepped in, confronted the hardships, and saved them. He can and will save you from situations that you need pulled out of, and protect you throughout your struggles. There are things that need to happen in His plan, and not all of them are easy, in fact most of them are not easy, but as my mom says, "If He puts you to it, He will bring you through it.” (Exodus 18:8).
I know that the LORD is greater -Exodus 18:11
Do not try to take on everything on your own. It is too much for any one person to deal with, and God already knows that. He gave us Jesus, and the Holy Spirit so that we can communicate with Him, and give away our burdens. You will tire yourself out, and completely out do yourself if you try to do everything on your own, so please don’t. God knows that if we try to take everything on alone it will be too heavy, not only is He willing, but He WANTS to take your hardships. What seems impossible for you is easy for God. I know that sometimes we keep stuff to ourselves so that we don’t inconvenience someone else, but you are never an inconvenience to God. (Exodus 18:18).
Thunder and lightning is one of God’s ways to get your attention. I added this one just because I think it’s cute. I have a cute story to go with it as well. When I was really little (like 3-4 years old) I was afraid of thunderstorms especially if they were the “shake your house” kind. I remember one night it was a really bad storm and it felt like it was right over our house. The thunder was coming at the same time as the lightning, and I couldn’t sleep because of it. My mom came in and told me, “Lightning is just the flash of God when He takes a picture of you.” That was the day I got over my fear. For years after that every time it would lightning I would walk to my window and smile upwards for my picture. In all seriousness though, just don’t limit God and how He may communicate with you. (Exodus 19:16).
God truly CANNOT deal with or be around sin… any of it. Before Jesus, if someone sinned God could not be near them or even talk to them directly until they sacrificed and repented, because they weren’t pure. Luckily for us, Jesus already forgave us, but it is still so important to repent, and remember that God is good and can’t even be around anything not good. (Exodus 19:21-22).
God can and will love so deeply, but you must also love Him. It all goes back to what I just said. He cannot love evil, and until we have repented and are forgiven we are seen as evil to Him, but when we love Him and are for Him, we will feel a love so deep. God’s love is real love, and it is a love that we will not be able to find here no matter how hard we try. (Exodus 20:6).
Do not gossip. It seems obvious, yet it happens so often, and God blatantly said He did not want us spreading bad or untrue things about others. Probably the best advice I have been given was by my mom when I was first going into school. She said “Don’t talk about other people unless it is completely in a good light. Do not even be around a conversation where people are talking about others, because even politely nodding can be turned and is not good on you.” When she said it she was protecting me, but as I have grown older and the gossip and drama has been more important (possibly life changing) and more often I have really taken it to heart. She was protecting me, but what she said is really how God wants us to live. Not only does He not want us to gossip, He doesn’t want us to be involved with others gossiping unless we are putting it to a stop. It may not be the most popular thing to do, but it is 100% okay to tell someone that you are not comfortable talking about someone else. If that conversation doesn’t end then leave. It’s never easy, but if it’s what God wants then it is so worth it. (Exodus 20:16).
Do not let money compete with God. It is easy to stress about money and how you will end up, even the stress about going to the right college so that you can get the right job so that you can make enough money in the future can be allowing money to compete with God. Wanting to have a good job, and making a decent income is not a bad thing at all, but putting it above God, or stressing about it so much rather than trusting and having faith in God is. Be aware of how much time you are putting towards money versus how much time you are putting into God. (Exodus 20:23).
Be prepared to be handled the same way you handled someone else. God very much agrees with the “an eye for an eye, a leg for a leg” saying. He flat out says that. Bad things do not go unpunished. It is not our job to judge or punish, but it is God's, so make sure that you are doing everything in goodness. I have a bad habit of being sarcastic, and crossing the line. I have started to step back and before I say anything think “I know this is a joke, but if it was said to me not as a joke would it make me feel good?” If the answer is no I choose something else to say. Even if it wouldn’t make me feel bad, it is not adding anything unless it does good. The same thing goes for more serious topics though. If you would not want the same thing done to you, do not do it. (Exodus 21:12-25).
You are responsible for what you own. I feel like this is a lesson for when I am older, but think of when you are babysitting someone. If they do something wrong and you don’t clean it, or fix whatever it was, it is ultimately your responsibility. If your pet ran into someone's yard and dug a hole, you would then be responsible for fixing that hole. Hold to your responsibilities, and treat them like it. (Exodus 21:29).
Do not steal, but if you do know that your punishment will be worse than what you did. God’s law said that you would have to give back what you took, but also an extra 20%. It reminds me of a convenience fee. You did something wrong, and because of that you have to make up for it. If you borrowed something, you would be expected to give it back in the same condition, but you have the risk of being told no. If you stole it, you did not run that risk, so you would have to pay back extra for not. (Exodus 22:2).
Help others who need it whenever you can. There are people who are just less fortunate, and need extra help, so give it to them with a giving heart. I am honestly so bad at this. I plan out my schedule very precisely, and when someone needs a favor that changes more than 5 minutes of that schedule it really throws me off (especially when I am actually busy). I simply just do not adjust very well. In the past year I have really tried to work on this realizing that helping someone else is often so much more important than whatever I had planned. I used to (well still do) hate running errands for my parents. Often I would not mind going with them, but going to pick up food, or do a quick grocery run was the worst chore you could give me. Don’t ask me why I have no clue, but it was and still is. The difference is, then I was thinking solely of myself and how it would affect me, and now I think of my parents; how they are busy and how they may need their rest. Whether or not your favors are actually appreciated, do it with a good heart knowing that helping someone else is better than anything you could have planned for yourself. (Exodus 22:22, Exodus 22:25).
Be FOR God, and be HOLY. Only share good things about God. I think we all go through times of doubt and how deep or large the doubt is, it creeps up. When it does happen, I pray you have a deep enough faith to fight the doubt, and know it is just the enemy trying to get to you. Having somewhere to go that will help you out of it is good, and very much needed, but unless you are telling someone for help, do not share the doubt. You know it is not true; God is good, and we are not to talk bad or down upon Him. (Exodus 22:28, Exodus 22:31).
Show fairness, and be honest. If someone is asking your opinion anywhere from a courtroom to a casual conversation around a lunch table, and you need to give it (this is the times when it is not gossiping) make sure you are doing it in fairness. Do not say something dishonest, or biased because of feelings or prior emotions. Be fair to everyone, and do everything with a righteous heart. Be very very careful with what you say. (Exodus 23:1-3).
Don’t justify. We all do it, some more than others, but I have never met someone who doesn’t justify their actions. There are people who justify lying, cheating, manipulating and the list goes on forever. The one I do is my ego. I have a pride larger than an Australian animal. It is bad. I’m not overly arrogant, and I can normally take no as an answer, but being vulnerable is one of the hardest things for me. I know it is not good, but I justify it by saying that it has saved me from a lot of heartache. It is true, but the way I go about doing that is not good. God knows what is good and what is bad, and He makes it very black and white for us. There really is not a gray area, so get rid of yours. (Exodus 23:7).
Remember the sabbath for yourself and others. God is very serious in this book about Sunday being the day of rest for Him and only Him. He even says your livestock should rest that day. Every living thing deserves one day a week for complete rest. Give yourself that day off, but also do not ask anyone else to do anything that day either. If you need to, then work double as hard on Saturday, but DO NOT work Sunday’s. (Exodus 23:12).
This book was written before the Holy Spirit, but knowing about it now, we can see a lot of parallels. God would send angels to protect people, and they were to listen and obey everything they said. God’s name was in the angels, and therefore they were a part of Him. The Holy Spirit is the same way. It is all part of God, therefore if the Holy Spirit tells you something, or leads you somewhere, follow it just as you would God. (Exodus 23:20-22).
Do not make promises with the enemy. If it is not for God, it is not for you. Don’t even associate with it, much less make a promise. We talked earlier about how God does not want us to make a promise that we aren’t going to faithfully keep, and that is still true when we make a promise with evil, therefore He does not want us to make a promise with evil. There’s so many movies or shows about how someone keeps their word just for everything else to be turned around, so what they innocently enough agreed to ended up being bad. That is literally what the devil dedicated His life to, God knows that and gives us these lessons to protect us. (Exodus 23:32).
We will do and obey all that the LORD has commanded us. -Exodus 24:7. Know this verse, and make an agreement between yourself and God that you will do this. Tell yourself every morning “I will do and obey all that the LORD has commanded me.”
Look for God’s glory. He is everywhere around you, and His glory is always present, so look for it. People start having a hard time mentally dealing with situations, or living for God more when they are so far from His glory. Truth is though, that you never are far from His glory, you just are not looking for it. The devil does whatever he can to distract us from God, so fight him and always be looking for God's glory, besides who doesn’t want His glory? (Exodus 24:16).
God wants us to literally make room for Him. You have probably heard from preachers, friends, or spiritual leaders to make room for God, and they often mean to make time for Him, and make sure that you have Him very involved in your life. Do not let Him be a “well if I have time I will spend time with Him,” but God says even more than just that. He says to make room for Him, make a sanctuary for Him, where all you do there is praise Him, worship Him, talk to Him, and learn about Him. If it isn’t about Him then it doesn’t belong there. Find a place that you dedicate to God only in your life. Not just a church and/or a camp, but a private place that when you go there it is only for God. (Exodus 25:8).
The next several chapters God tells Moses exactly how to make different things (the ark, table, lamp stead, tabernacle, ect.) I don’t get flat out bored reading the bible often, but when it comes to this kind of stuff I do, and I have a bad habit or zoning out and just barely skimming the chapter, and that's exactly what I was doing when I noticed and forced myself to step back and understand why this would be included in the Bible. As I sat back and really just thought about it all, I realized that God is so specific in these instructions, but He is the same way with us. He tells us exactly how He wants us to live. He has already thought of everything, and has told us exactly how to handle situations (He gives us the freedom not to, but He blatantly lays out the instructions.) All of this goes to show just how intentional God is, and how He truly is all knowing. (Exodus 25-28).
God is a good teacher. Have you ever had a teacher who tells you what to do, but never demonstrates anything? It would be just as useful if not more to just get a paper that had typed out the instructions with no pictures. It is hard to learn that way, sure you can do something you already know how to do, but you cannot learn something new that way. God knows that, and while we do know He tells us a lot, He also demonstrates it for us when we are watching. As He was telling Moses the instructions for the skilled workers, He showed him exactly how and what to do on the mountain. God knows how to teach and gives us so much guidance, we just have to be open to it. (Exodus 27:8).
Always keep your light burning. I went to a camp and every year they had a theme and one year it was “Let There Be Light,” and so throughout the weeks we would have bible groups and studies, and being a light was often a topic that would come up. It always reminds me of the song “This Little Light of Mine.” I say all this to make the point that this is a common theme that is taught from a young young age. The idea is so simple, be the one to show God’s light. Light shines brighter when it is dark, so even through hard times keep God as your main focus, and bring others towards Him every opportunity you get. In this scripture God was telling Moses how to make sure a candle did not burn out, and using that same metaphor do not let your light burn out. Fuel it, and keep it strong by keeping your relationship with the Lord strong. (Exodus 27:20-21).
Something that has continually stuck out to me in this book is how much God wants you to be for Him. He wants us to be dressed in His glory and beauty. I will go a bit off topic for a second to say this: I know that so many people, it feels like most, go through a stage or period of time where they fight with their body, or outward appearance. I actually don’t know anyone who hasn’t. Obviously we all know we should not, and that at the end of the day our looks are not the end all be all, but we react like they are myself included at times. God tells us though straight out that beauty comes from Him, and I remember hearing that and thinking ”Okay well yeah, but that’s inward beauty, but it does not mean I look any better than I do now, and that matters too *insert eyeroll*.” I still struggle with that, but when you truly live for God, and can trust full-heartedly that beauty comes from Him, you will realize that your outward appearance will not matter, and even so, it will still be affected. People who wear God’s glory and beauty look different than those who do not. When you first walk up to someone who is extremely faithful they have a different level of approachability, and they are just visibly more alive. I promise it all makes a difference, so truly trust in God’s beauty, and live for Him. (Exodus 28:2).
God pays attention to what is on our hearts. He lives inside of our heart, so it makes sense that whatever is on our hearts He hears, and cannot miss it. It is in His home. I have so many testimonies of when I couldn’t speak, or did not know what to say, or even not knowing what I was feeling where God knew because it was heavy on my heart, and He answered an unasked prayer, gave me clarity, or gave me peace. Whatever it is, God knows your heart, and there may be times where you simply don’t know what to say or how to say it, yet God will know the answer. With that being said, keep people in your heart, so that you also remind God of others who you know are struggling. (Exodus 28:29-30).
God listens to us. He hears everything we say. Years ago I started doing an open prayer when I woke up, and not closing it until right before I went to sleep. Doing that, it made me think of what I was saying all day, knowing it was to God. It also kept my conversations with Him much more casual. I knew and remembered throughout the day that everything I was saying was to Him, or one of His children, and it kept me from saying nearly anything negative. When you remember that God is listening, your words are kinder, which affects how you think. (Exodus 28:35).
God accepts us based on what we think. It is much easier to control what you say than it is to control what you think. He knows that what you think is a direct reflection of who you are, and being that He has access to heart and thoughts He knows exactly what we are thinking and who we are. I just talked about how to change your thoughts, it takes work but it is so worth it. Change your thoughts for the better to bring you closer to God. (Exodus 28:38).
Modesty keeps you away from guilt. Often you do not feel guilty of something immediately, but later. God directly says to dress modestly so that you do not incur guilt. He knows that not being modest is not for Him, and the closer you get to Him the worse you will feel from it, so He is warning you in advance. (Exodus 28:42-43).
Tithing is a ransom for our life to God. I find tithing extremely important, and there are several different ideas on how to tithe. I want to focus not on how or what to tithe, but rather what it truly is. A ransom is a payment for a release of a prisoner. We are paying God to release us from our life, so that we may go to Him, what is more valuable than that? (Exodus 30:11).
Keep holy things holy. A church is a holy place, and we do not fill it with our sin. You don’t hear people cursing in church, or vandalizing it, because there is a respect being that it is holy. God wants us to do that for everything holy. Be focused on it, and do not fill it with worldly things. When God gives us something directly from Him, do whatever you can to keep it like that rather than turning it worldly. We are surrounded by the world, so the few things that are not of the world, let's keep as holy as we can. (Exodus 30:32).
God wants you pure, holy, and for Him. Keep everything you do pure and holy. When you identify what God has given you, the next step is to know that what God gives you is holy. When He gives you a good friend, treat them as you would treat Him, because everything that comes from Him is pure and holy, including you, so do as much as you can to stay the same as God made you. (Exodus 30:35-37).
Strive to be filled with God’s spirit, wisdom, and understanding, and use your skills for God and to bring others closer to Him. The closer you are to someone the more you act like them, that's where the saying “you are who you hang out with,” comes from. The same thing goes with how close you are to God. When you are around Him a lot, and spend real, quality time with Him, you will start becoming more like Him. The closer y’all are, the more you will be filled with His spirit, wisdom, and understanding. I also strongly believe that everyone is born with some type of gift, or natural talent. For some it is athletics, others singing or acting, and others it could be smarts. Whatever it is, know that it’s from God, and use it to show all that God has done in you. (Exodus 31:3).
Rest on Sunday, it is holy. I’ve already written a few paragraphs about this, but in this book it is brought up SO many times. God does not want us working on Sundays. If you need food, make a bigger shopping trip Saturday, if you have homework over the weekend make sure to do it before. Whatever it is, you need to either plan it ahead or it can wait, but on Sunday the ONLY thing you should be doing is praising God. (Exodus 31:13-15).
Celebrate God! Literally throw parties in His name, have a bunch of people over for dinner and fellowship, or share testimonies together. It’s not uncommon in my family to do something to celebrate someone’s “small wins,” meaning when they do something rather small, but still impressive we may go out for dinner, or get an ice cream or something because of that. God does amazing things all the time, so why not celebrate Him as well? (Exodus 32:5).
We are often so quick to go against God whenever we aren't asking for something. If we are for God, then we need to always be trying to do what is right. God has a plan for us, and He knows better than anyone else what is good, and how important it is to be righteous. He makes His commandments very straight forward, so that all we have to do is follow them, and not stray from Him. It is not an easy path to always do what is right, and no one said it would be, but in the end it is way more rewarding. (Exodus 32:8).
God is the ultimate. If you ask an English teacher, they will tell you that is not a complete sentence, but in this case it is, because He is the ultimate everything. The ultimate healer, lover, judge, authority, joy, salvation, power, provider, ect. The list could go on forever, so God is the ultimate. With that being said the biggest war cry is prayer and worship. Everyone is battling their own fight, so when I say war I am not meaning just country to country, but also individual wars. When you run into an “uh-oh” with someone, often revenge is something that comes to mind, but something so much better is just simple prayer. People who battle anxiety and depression can go and find all of these coping mechanisms, and while they can be helpful, they are nothing comparable to prayer. (Exodus 32:18).
Be faithful to God so that you are not a laughing stock for the enemy. I normally talk about God, but this one is more about the enemy. Satan doesn’t want you, he just wants God to lose, and take as many people away from Him. He is still laughing at us when we do bad, not celebrating. Have you ever been on a team where the coach is really working so that you can be the best you can be, or another team where the coach does not care at all about the team or players, just beating another team for personal reasons? God is the coach who wants what is best for His players and team, but Satan just wants to beat God. He will put you through extra tests and harder practices, but His goals are purely for Himself. Do not let yourself become a laughing stock. (Exodus 32:25).
You have to be against man and the world to be for God. That doesn’t mean don’t love others, it means following God over any person or the world. The world is full of evil, and we are here to spread God’s goodness, not fall in line with what the world is. God has called us to be different, and not one of the world, but one of His, so let’s be His children, and dedicate ourselves to Him. (Exodus 32:29).
God protects. He proves to us time and time again in scripture but also in real life, so trust Him. Allow Him to protect you in all situations, and know that He may put you into challenging places, but He is all powerful and can help you out of it. Also keep in mind that there is a lot of trust that goes into knowing that God will protect us, because He knows the difference between danger, and uncomfortability. Don’t lose faith because you don’t know the whole plan. (Exodus 32:34).
God really cannot be around sin. He knows that He will destroy anything with sin if He is around it. That’s why back in old testament times offerings were so important, and why Jesus is so amazing. The only way we can have a relationship with God is through Jesus. Limit your sin, and repent when you do to keep a strong relationship with God. (Exodus 33:5).
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. -Exodus 33:14
Make and allow God to know you by name. I’ll tell you when I read this it really shook me up for a while. A few weeks actually. Every night I would reintroduce myself to God and tell Him who I was and what was going on in my life. I wanted to make sure He knew and remembered me. As I was going through this God helped me realize that He doesn’t know you because of your name, but how you follow Him.When you live for Him, then He will know you. When you live for Him and invite Him into your heart that is when He will know you. Live for Him, and make Him know you. (Exodus 33:17).
Just as the LORD commanded him. -Exodus 34:4. Be obedient to God and do everything exactly how He says to.
Okay these next verses really struck me. A little background before I go into this: I read each book that I write about prior to even starting the writing, and when I read it I study the word… hard. I highlight and take notes like crazy. There are certain things that stick out to me and I will make a sticky note or index card depending on what it is. Sometimes I have a question that I need to research, other times just a question to reflect on myself, and then sometimes (like this) it is just a verse that really stands out and seems important, or impactful. When I read this, I was so blown away, and ended up spending a lot of time on it. I’m not sure I have found the words for my thoughts, but I will give you the verses, and try to put my thoughts on this. The LORD- the LORD is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilt unpunished, bringing the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. -Exodus 34:6-7. Wow, right? So the short bit I could give you over this is that this is the definition and importance of the name of the LORD, but if you haven’t realized I’m not really one to just give you the short version. I’ll break it down. “The LORD-” This part just shows that it is about to be a definition, we are about to find out what the term/name the LORD means. “Compassionate and gracious God,” He isn’t just any God, He is a compassionate and gracious one. “Slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth,” is He not a PERFECT example of who we should be? Slow to anger, I get frustrated quickly, something isn’t working right, I’m just in a bad mood and irritated, someone is doing something to make me mad on purpose, whatever it is, but God tells me not to do that, and He shows me by being slow to anger himself. The second part I find even more powerful, abounding (plentiful) in faithful love and truth. What we think of on earth as love and truth is not what God does, and that’s why He added the word faithful. If your faith is sturdy it will be of God and unchanging. That is how we should love and be truthful. The next part goes into the unchanging comment I just made. He said maintaining that love and truth for generations, it will not change even throughout hundreds of years. The last part talks about how the evil doers will be punished. If we follow in His footsteps, we will be rewarded with His unchanging love, truth, compassion, and grace, but if we do not and we stray from Him then we will be punished by Him and He will punish generations beyond us.
Those who are closest to God will feel the most love and goodness deep within their hearts. I mean it makes sense… Good is love and God is good, so when you become close to Him you will have a deeper sense of love and goodness. (Exodus 34:8).
Watch God’s work in awe. He works miracles. Everything He creates is so good and inspiring. Don’t take it all for granted just thinking, “Well God is bigger than us yeah He creates cool stuff,” sure that’s true, but if you look at what He’s made it is amazing. One common thing I’ve heard from all pregnant women is that while they’re pregnant they are in constant awe, because a baby is literally inside them. We don’t look at every person as a miracle, but while the mom is pregnant she does. If we can look at that in awe, imagine what we would think of the world. Every sunrise, sunset, cloud, animal, body of water, just everything that we walk by everyday and barely even notice. Let’s look through a new pair of glasses that show all of God’s works. (Exodus 34:10).
Be so faithful to God and only God. He is jealous for you, and His reputation. He doesn’t have to compete, because He is so far above everyone and everything else, so a God who is slow to anger gets angry when we make Him compete with someone/something else for our hearts. (Exodus 34:14).
Don’t make anything or anyone an idol. Be so faithful in God that you don’t feel the need to go to so many other places to feel better. Do not go somewhere “instead of God,” because He wants nothing more than for you to constantly be running towards Him. It is easy to make something your idol. Having a role model is one thing, but trying to be that person so much that you dedicate so much time into it is making them an idol. You can even make what you do an idol (sports, social media, ect.) God wants us all to Himself, so let Him have us. (Exodus 34:17).
God will fill you. Throughout the bible there are so many miracles that God performs, and one that is constant is that He provides for His children. Moses was with God for 40 days and 40 nights, and the entire time he did not eat or drink. That does not mean he was never hungry or thirsty, but God kept Him healthy just by His presence. We do not actually depend on anything other than God. (Exodus 34:28).
God is a light. We are called to be God’s light and share His goodness. Moses had been so filled with God that he literally glowed. He was a visible light. There’s the saying you are what you eat, and truth is you are what you fill yourself with. When you fill yourself spiritually, your light will be brighter (possibly even literally), and you will be more content. (Exodus 34:29).
Give back to God/ tithe. Prove (to yourself and God) that God is more important than anything else, and prove your trust. Oftentimes when we think of offerings we think of money… with reason, but we can offer God anything. Money can prove your trust, but if you’re donating money, but not engaging with Him at all it means nothing. I run into not offering up enough of my time. My schedule gets busy and I push spending time with Him off, when the truth is I need Him more when I’m busy than any other time. Giving back to God is important, but don’t limit yourself to only giving back in one way. (Exodus 35:5).
God will move your heart and tell you what to do. Anxiety is so common, but it really stems from not being able to step back and give everything to God. Trust Him, He has a plan, and we have the Holy Spirit. When you are in a time of need or uncertainty, really give everything to God. He knows what to do, and He has the power over your heart. He can and will move you, so just trust Him. (Exodus 35:21).
God can fill you with His spirit, wisdom, and understanding. That is a really good, deep prayer of mine. I want to be filled with His spirit, I want to have wisdom, and I want to understand through His eyes. His way is the best way, and that’s the only way I want to see life. Being filled with those things can really fulfill a heart. (Exodus 35:31).
Use the gifts God gives you to glorify Him. I told you early that I believe deeply that God gives everyone a gift of sorts. He gave craftsmen the gifts of wisdom and understanding so that they could build sanctuaries and tabernacles and and and for HIm. He gave you a direct way to glorify Him. I know I often limit myself thinking that the only way to glorify God is to talk about Him and share His word, but this scripture proves me wrong every single time I read it. God gave you a gift for a specific reason. Find out what it is, and glorify Him. (Exodus 36:1).
God’s glory is in the clouds everyday. We all take so much for granted. It’s almost funny, when you walk outside and it's super cloudy, you may not think anything of it, but you may think “ew the weather may get bad,” or “it doesn’t look very good out here,” but God shows Himself through the clouds. He visibly watches over you in the sky. (Exodus 40:34-38).
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