Daily Devotional
"Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out... And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt."
Joshua 24:5, 7
Four hundred years. That’s how long Israel was enslaved in Egypt. Generation after generation born into slavery, living in slavery, dying in slavery. Can you imagine the despair? Can you imagine wondering if God had forgotten His promises, if He even remembered His people?
But God remembered. And when the time was right, God acted with power. Not with a committee meeting. Not with a peace treaty. Not with negotiation or compromise. God delivered His people with mighty acts of power that left no doubt about who was in control.
Notice how many times in these verses God says “I.” I sent. I plagued. I brought. I put darkness. I made the sea come. God is making it abundantly clear: You didn’t do this. I did this. You didn’t negotiate your freedom. You didn’t fight your way out. I delivered you.
We have short memories. We forget so quickly who delivered us. A few years removed from addiction, and we start thinking we just finally got our act together. A few years past that financial crisis God brought us through, and we start crediting our own good decisions. A few years beyond that broken relationship that God healed, and we start thinking we fixed it ourselves.
But the truth is, God delivered us. God gave us the strength to make those choices. God opened the doors. God sent the people into our lives who helped us. God made a way when there was no way. And when we forget that, we start to drift. We start to think we don’t need God anymore. We’ve got this.
That’s why remembering is so important. Not just remembering what God did for Israel thousands of years ago, but remembering what God has done for you. Where were you when God found you? What were you enslaved to? What did God deliver you from? How has God made a way when there was no way?
Today's Challenge
What has God delivered you from? Write down at least three specific ways God has shown His delivering power in your life. How does remembering these deliverances help you trust God with your current challenges?
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for how quickly I forget Your deliverance. Forgive me for taking credit for what You did. Thank You for delivering me from sin, from slavery, from myself. Help me to remember that every good thing in my life is because of Your power and grace. When I face the next challenge, remind me that You are the same God who parted the Red Sea, the same God who delivered Israel, the same God who will deliver me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
