Scripture: Exodus 14:10-13
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, “Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.
Thought for the Day: I’ve always loved the line, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt…?” In the face of what appeared to be utter helplessness, the Israelites were willing to surrender everything. When hopelessness runs rampant, people are agreeable to almost anything. It’s as if the Israelites were saying, “We’d rather die as slaves in Egypt then to take a chance at a liberated life.” That’s hopelessness speaking. That’s despair talking. Of course, we see the opposite occur when those who are hopeless are suddenly inspired with a vision of the possible. We’ve seen it at Oberlin College where a young Lucy Stone began to question the inability of women to vote in this country. We’ve seen it on a public bus in Montgomery where Rosa Parks refused to move. We’ve seen it in Tiananmen Square where an unknown man stood against tanks. Even just a glimpse of hope is a powerful agent of transformation! Where are you seeing hope? Where are you a reflection of hope to others?
Prayer: Make me an instrument of your hope, O God, so those who are enslaved by despair might glimpse what’s possible through you. Amen.
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