And God Knew

Exodus 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25  God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
God heard. God remembered. God saw. God knew.
What did God know? He knew their heart cry. He knew their physical pain. He knew their idols. He knew what He was about to do through Moses. He knew the pain wasn’t going to go away quickly. He knew His people would also be fickle with their devotion. He knew it was time.
It was what the Israelites would need to be reminded of as the years would pass by and severe hardships would come and go. They would need constant reminding that God knew.
It was what Jesus would need to be reminded of in His time of greatest need:
Mark 24:32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
It was what the Haitians trapped underneath rubble for twelve days would need to be reminded of – even as they heard people outside pass them by.
It was what you needed to be reminded of when the entire world seemed like it was against you and everything was collapsing in, and all you wanted to do was bury your head in your mom’s chest and cry. Feeling her tears touch your face and then hearing her whisper “I know…” was exactly what you needed, and she knew it.
The people we are called to serve need to be reminded, too – that God knows. In their time of greatest need, we become Christ to them. We need to know their heart cry, their idols, their physical and spiritual pain, and be ok with the fact that the pain may not go away. It starts with and ends with: listening.  It means living the words of the persecuted missionary, Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there”.

Exodus 2:24-25 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

God heard. God remembered. God saw. God knew.

What did God know? He knew their heart cry. He knew their physical pain. He knew their idols. He knew what He was about to do through Moses. He knew the pain wasn’t going to go away quickly. He knew His people would also be fickle with their devotion. He knew it was time.

It was what the Israelites would need to be reminded of as the years would pass by and severe hardships would come and go. They would need constant reminding that God knew.

It was what Jesus would need to be reminded of in His time of greatest need:

Mark 14:32-36 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.  And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”  And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

It was what the Haitians trapped underneath rubble for twelve days would need to be reminded of – even as they heard people outside pass them by.

It was what you needed to be reminded of when the entire world seemed like it was against you and everything was collapsing in, and all you wanted to do was bury your head in your mom’s chest and cry. Feeling her tears touch your face and then hearing her whisper “I know…” was exactly what you needed, and she knew it.

The people we are called to serve need to be reminded, too – that God knows. In their time of greatest need, we become Christ to them. We need to know their heart cry, their idols, their physical and spiritual pain, and be ok with the fact that the pain may not go away. It starts and ends with: listening.  It means living the words of the persecuted missionary, Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there”.

Comments are closed.