Hope in His Mercy

 

Life was hard for the Israelites in Egypt after Joseph died. They became slaves and were treated as such (Exodus 1:8, 11). God used Moses and Aaron to step in and be His mouthpiece before the Pharaoh who hated God and had no love for His people.

Over the last year or two it is becoming more and more evident that our own culture is taking an anti-Christian stand. This week a restaurant that is hosting a Christian event entitled, “Should We Want an Explicitly Christian State?” is being attacked. Apparently just discussing a Christian society is a threat of some sort to those who hate God.

This can be discouraging to the Christian who wants to live a peaceful life and continue to work to grow the Kingdom of God without opposition. Looking back in scripture it is easy to see that the people of God have rarely been without opposition, though there have been times when the Bible says they had peace for a number of years. We would not appear to be in one of those times.

There are many examples of what people are saying that are anti-Christian and which means they are anti-God. Listen to mainstream media and you will hear it. The thing we must remember is that these people will one day have to face God at judgment.

What is most reassuring as the Bible gives the account of Moses and Aaron confronting the hard hearted Pharaoh of Egypt about letting God’s people go is that God repeatedly shows mercy in the midst of His wrath. From the Egyptians who dug for (and presumably found) water around the Nile River when it had been turned into blood to the way the Lord only allowed the plagues to affect the Egyptians while He protected His own people, God was faithful and true to His Word.

Especially with regard to His people who must have had to work around the Nile while it was bloody and who must have smelled the dead fish and seen flies and locusts and frogs as they came upon the Egyptians in plagues. By His grace in the other plagues on the Egyptians, the Israelites did not lose cattle or suffer the boils that their owners did. God protected His people.

This is the encouragement that we have. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is still protecting His people. This doesn’t mean we will not deal with the circumstances that come from the judgment of God on the people around us. But we will not suffer as the world suffers as we know that we have “the God who is near.”

For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? Deuteronomy 4:7

Though persecution is hard, we have to see that it is coming if a restaurant owner is called out for hosting a Christian conversation. We can, with many in history, face the future with hope in a merciful God who loves His people in the midst of His judgment.