Faith, Doubt and God's Mysterious TimingSample

Waits are for a Purpose

The story of Moses is divided into three parts, and the part we know least about is the forty years in the middle of his story. The Bible gives us only a few lines in Exodus 2 to see what this “in-between” time produced. If we take a closer look at the time Moses spent as a shepherd in the Midian wilderness, we can see how God used this seemingly nondescript season in Moses’ life to equip him for what was ahead.

Moses likely thought he would be tending sheep for the rest of his life, but God was shaping him with the experience he needed for shepherding thousands of Israelites. There would be weeks and months that he would be leading people through this same wilderness in the future, so God gave him this time alone as his practice run. If Moses had gone straight from a privileged childhood in Egypt to his encounter at the burning bush, he wouldn’t have been equipped for the challenges that lay ahead for him. This observation can help us look at our own “in-between” seasons differently- especially when it seems there is no point or any change in sight. What happens to Moses urges us to suspend judgment on what things look like now- and trust God for what our waiting period could become.

Another faith-inspiring detail from this chapter of Moses’ life is the relationship that developed between Moses and Jethro. Because Moses had been raised without a biological mother or father, it’s a poignant detail that God brought Moses a father-in-law, who took him into his family and into his life. Jethro not only gave Moses his daughter Zipporah; there are passages that show he became a true father figure for Moses. In Exodus 18, Jethro goes to visit Moses when he is burned leading too many people, and he helps Moses establish the first democracy, by choosing capable leaders to come alongside him and lighten his load (Exodus 18:26) The respect Moses has for Jethro is evident in Exodus 18:24 with this simple verse: “Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.”

These observations help us to see that the “in-between” season of Moses’ life turned out to be one of the most important chapters in Moses’ story. Without this time, Moses would have been ill-prepared for what God was about to bring into his life. Perhaps that helps us in our own “in-between” seasons, to recognize God always has a purpose for everything that happens. One day we may look back and see that something that is happening now will one day be something we need.

Takeaway: When was the last time you were in a waiting season? Can you see anything God did (in you, through you, or around you) during that time that you needed later?