Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Exodus 23:20-30..Promises, Promises

1.19.10

It's been 8 days since I have had my arms around my manchild and heard life according to my Critter! I am really hurting today! The tears are flowing and I am fighting the urge to go get him. This is simply a fight I am not strong enough to fight. I pray and ask God to please help me! I sense the Holy Spirit is interceding for me, as I really don't know what to pray. I go to my Bible...Jesus is always so faithful to meet me there.

Exodus 23:20-30 is a passage where God tells the Israelites, His people, what He will do for them and what they need to do.
11 times in 10 verses God says,"I will." What does He promise the Israelites He will do? He will fight and win their battles for them, on their behalf. He says He will:

* guide them and take care of them by sending an angel before them to bring them from where they were, the wilderness to
the place that God has promised and prepared for them - Canaaan

* prepare Canaan for the Isaelites. He has gone ahead of them and has goodness and rest for them

* fight and conquer the Israelite's enemies FOR the Israelites

What does God tell the Israelites that they are to do?

* Pay close attention and listen to the angel

* Obey what He tells you to do

* Worship God only

Can I claim those promises for myself, our family and Critter? hmm..we certainly feel like we are in the Wilderness right now!
Could you claim His promises for your life?

Well, according to John 16:13, Jesus has certainly sent us the Holy Spirit to guide us and care for us until He comes back.
Just like God provided Canaan for the Israelites and placed them there, Galatians 3:27 tells me that He has provided Jesus for us and placed us IN Christ. According to Matt 11:28 and Eph 1:11, our rest and inheritance are not in a place but in a Person, Jesus. However, just like the Israelites still had battles in their promise land, we will still have battles until Jesus returns.

So yes, while the promises in Exodus were for the Israelites, the Holy Spirit teaches me that the New Testament holds the same promises for me! My enemies are not the Hittites or Amorites but Eph 6:12 tells me it is Satan. Romans 8:37-39 tells me that "in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus." WOW! Jesus will fight for me!

One last nugget. In Exodus 23:30, God tells the Israelites that for their own good, He will drive their enemies out "little by little." God will also handle timing. 2 Peter 3:8 tells us that God doesn't keep time like we do. I know He loves me so and the only way He could let me hurt right now is that He sees the future. He sees the man He is making in my Critter. He sees His glory as Christ is expressed in Critter's life and He sees my joy at Him keeping His promises! He is working "little by little."

So for today, I will choose to let God fight my battle and believe 2 Corinthians 1:20, " For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." "Blessed is she that believes that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." Luke 1:45

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