Hope RisesSample

Moses got to see and experience so many incredible things, but he also faced a LOT of adversity. In fact, his life is a constant give and take. Something good happens, then something bad happens. If you read all of Moses’ story you’ll see he’s almost constantly embattled and tested. If anyone had reason to give up hope it was Moses. Instead, his life becomes an incredible testament of hope—even in moments Moses least expects it—to his people and even to us today.

In Exodus 14:15-31 we see God using Moses as a champion of hope for an otherwise hopeless people. The Israelites had finally (finally!) been freed from slavery in Egypt, and they fled to find a new land to live in as free people. But nearly as soon as the Egyptians release the Israelites, they changed their minds and pursued the Jews to the Red Sea intent on capturing them and taking them back to Egypt as slaves.

So imagine you’re an Israelite. You’ve just been freed; you’re walking through the wilderness to a new life; you hear the Egyptians are coming. Then everyone starts running, and just when you feel like you’re going to be okay you notice there’s a massive body of water in front of you. Oh, and by the way, you don’t have boats or rafts. Nothing! And since you’re carrying all of your possessions you can’t just swim across. So what do you do? Seems like a hopeless situation, right?

In Exodus 14:16 God tells Moses to raise his staff, and the waters of the Red Sea part. Incredibly, the Israelites even pass through on completely dry ground! When they get to the other side Moses again raises his staff, and the armies pursuing the Israelites are drowned by the crashing waves as the sea comes back together.

The people HOPED they would be delivered, but they could never have predicted how God would intervene. Moses believed in God when he raised his staff, God worked a miracle, and that faith became evidence to God’s people that He was on their side.

God gives us all some “raise your staff” moments in our lives. Sometimes he asks us to do something small so that he can do something incredible!

Today, ask God for a “raise your staff” moment—watch how he uses small things to do incredible things!