Watching or Working?

Dear Friends,

This week’s letter is based on the second chapter of Exodus.

Moses, the leader of the Hebrews, was born with a death sentence on his head. The ruler of the Egyptians feared the Hebrews were becoming too strong, so he ordered that all boy children born to Hebrew mothers were to be thrown into the Nile River. Moses’ mother hid the new born Moses for three months. Then, unable to hide him any longer, she put her son in a basket and placed him in the bulrushes by the river’s edge. Moses’ sister Miriam stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

This is a familiar Bible story, yet we may overlook Miriam’s courage. To the Hebrews, water was symbolic of uncertainty, chaos, and death. The Bible doesn’t tell us how long Miriam kept watch over the baby in the basket. We just know that she put aside her fears and watched over the baby as she waited to see what God would do. Miriam focused on the infant in the basket, not her surroundings. She made things happen rather than waiting and wondering what would happen. When we find ourselves stuck in the bulrushes of life, we need to appreciate the wonderful things we can do acting in God’s power.

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

How often do we stand at a distance to see what will happen? When we see someone being mistreated, do we stand up for them? When we see someone in need, do we step forward to help them? When we see someone hurting, do we comfort them? Miriam was a young slave girl – the least of the least – and yet she became a key person in the story of our salvation when she did more than just observe. Miriam couldn’t imagine how big an impact she would have on the history of the Jewish people. Likewise, we never know how big an impact God intends for us to make on others.

Johanna Mansfield Sullivan was born to a poor immigrant family. At the age of five she contracted an eye disease that left her nearly blind. Her mother died when she was eight, and her father abandoned her two years later. She spent four years in a home for the indigent before being admitted to Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. As the school’s valedictorian she wrote, “Fellow-graduates: duty bids us go forth into active life. Let us go cheerfully, hopefully, and earnestly, and set ourselves to find our especial part. When we have found it, willingly and faithfully perform it.”

When another young girl’s parents sought a teacher for their blind and deaf child, it was Joanna “Anne” Mansfield who answered the call. The movie “The Miracle Worker” was based on Anne Mansfield’s success in freeing her young student —Helen Keller — from the bondage of blindness and deafness. Helen went on to become a noted author, lecturer, and political activist.

“When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” ― Helen Keller

The other day we saw a young girl wearing a tee shirt that read, “I’m not wishing for it; I’m working for it.” What are you working for — or should the question be, “What are you waiting for? We all have opportunities to do things that will bring glory to God.

Scripture for the week: 1 Peter 4:11 (NLT) “Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

Blessings, Your Friends in Christ