Observation: In the lineage of Jewish heroes who acted by faith is this explanation of Moses. His first act of faith was this ... rejecting his life of position, status, wealth, and comfort.
Moses had been raised as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. As Pharaoh's adopted grandson, he therefore could have had and done so much. He could first have lived a life of comfort. Secondly, knowing he was a Jew, he could have used his position as a means of bringing reform and liberation for the Jews. He would have had the status to communicate and negotiate, at first for better conditions, and eventually for full relief from bondage. Moses fled the palace over a murder, but even that was likely more of an inconvenience for a princely relative.
Moses turned his back on a comfortable life, and eventually embraced a total faith in how the Lord would order his life. He became a spokesperson against Pharaoh, a prophet declaring death and destruction on the most powerful nation, a wise leader who knew how to protect people from supernatural forces, and a symbol who a million people would follow into the desert. However, as the author of Hebrews says, Moses had to take a first step of faith ... turning his back on human logic.
This is, in fact, the one theme of all the examples given in Hebrews. Abraham about to sacrifice his son by whom the entire family line is promised. Isaac blessing his two sons despite their active deception against each other. Jacob likewise blessing sons who messed up all the time. Joseph providing the burial instructions for his body back in Canaan while his family was in Egypt. Joshua leading Israel to destroy Jericho by walking around it. The writer says there are so many others, and in mentally ticking them off, the theme remains. The first act of faith is setting aside human logic and the ways of society, and thus trusting God.
Application: God began working on my heart yesterday about my attitude toward our church finances. His message to me is simple ... I need to reject my logic of how planning, budget, finance, and spending - even the idea of proper stewardship of the Lord's resources by a senior pastor - actually work, and simply have faith that he will handle the situation. That message is for both my wife and I.
This will not be easy. Neither of us work that way. Yes, we have faith, but we are also the logical ones. We both know that, when the Lord works, he often does so by leveraging real-life situations, and we are often the ones in the middle of those situations, working "issues" in a way that only the Lord can organize. Explicitly not organizing the situation, or even becoming passive and allowing total chaos to proceed, is not in our nature. However, I believe we are being told to do just that, because the Lord is going to take care of this in a manner that requires our faithful rejection of human logic.
Prayer: Lord, I anticipate your great work at Evergreen this season. The financial issue is now officially larger than anyone can fix, which means it is perfect for you to fix it. May we become excited about the amazing work you are about to do. Amen.
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