“I will be with you.” – January 4, 2023

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 85, 87; PM Psalm 89:1-29; Exod. 3:1-12; Heb. 11:23-31; John 14:6-14

Reading the scriptures for this morning left me thinking about the stories we tell about our brushes with the Divine. How do we put into words the experiences we have on holy ground? What reassures us that those moments are real and valid and not just wacky dreams after eating a late dinner?

Moses had exceptional accounts of conversing with God. In Exodus 3, he is tending his father-in-law’s livestock and wanders to a mountain. A bush bursts into flames and the angel of the Lord appears in the tongues of fire. Then God calls to him by name, “Moses!” Stunned, the man answers, “Here I am.” Yahweh instructs Moses to remove his footwear, as he is standing on sacred turf. That part of the story I often remember.

The second part of this reading from Exodus 3 stands out to me today, as God continues: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The Lord says how the misery of the Israelites in Egypt is not lost or hidden from sight. God hears their cries and knows their suffering. Relief is ahead – in a land of nourishment and health, quite contrary to the slavery and oppression in Egypt. Deliverance is promised. And Moses will be the one to petition Pharaoh.

Moses is willing to answer when a voice from a burning shrub calls out to him. He accepts that the Lord is the God of his forefathers. And when God says that Moses will be the one to convince the enemy’s leader to set God’s people on the path home, that is when he doubts. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God meets Moses right there, saying, “I will be with you”.

No matter the challenge that faces you today, or this week, or this year, God promises each of us that same assurance: I will be with you. God even sent Jesus as a tangible symbol of that promise…to walk alongside people struggling, doubting, hurting. Jesus helps direct our eyes to God. We pray to a God who knows us. Who has guided those who came before us. It is God who assures us, “I will be with you.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

We all question God at some point. What circumstances have left you doubting God? How do you move forward? Who is a partner for you in this? What did you learn?