“I SURE HOPE THIS WORKS
READ: EXODUS 15: 1-6
“The Lord is my strength and my song: he has become my victory. He is my God, and I will praise him: he is my father’s God, and I will exalt him!” (V. 2)
The officers assigned to the Vice Squad, where I was the supervisor, had spent many months working tirelessly to bring down a massive gambling ring whose huge profits were financing a drug distribution network. Painstaking hours of investigative work led to a court ordered wiretap for the network’s phones. The evidence garnered from this round the clock effort led to the issuance of 12 search warrants. These were designed to obtain the evidence needed to put the group out of operation. Just before the service of these warrants, in unison to prevent evidentiary destruction, my only thought was- “I sure hope this all goes as planned.” (It was successful and the ring was shut-down.)
There is no basis for comparison with any law enforcement operation when God gave Moses the “ginormous task” of leading the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. Each time the Lord sent him to challenge Pharaoh for either freedom, or suffer a plaque, Moses must have thought- “I sure hope this works.” Just how many times would the world’s most powerful ruler tolerate Moses pronouncements and let him walk away unharmed. It made better sense to strike the leader and eliminate this freedom nonsense. However, the plaques caused Pharaoh to discern that Moses was acting on behalf of someone whose power was greater than his. But it still took the death of his son before he set the Israelites free! Then he had an insightful leadership moment—” who is going to do the work to maintain my kingdom?” So, he immediately changed his mind, the prerogative of any king, and set out to bring them back. This set the stage for the final moment of truth when, God, through Moses, parted the sea. Once again, I can hear Moses saying, “I sure hope this works!” No problem, God had Moses back and the future of Israel was safe—God does not renegue on promises!
Christians know from scripture “that with God all things are possible” (Simply review the Bible from Genesis through Revelations). In spite of all the compelling Biblical evidence when faced with challenges we often elect to develop and implement our own solutions independent of God. This leads us to hope, for all get out, that our plan works. This type of flawed approach, of thought and action, needs to be replaced by seeking God’s direction and will. By confidently following his direction, the result will not be in doubt.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Recall the words of the Lord to Moses and Joshua to be strong, courageous, not fearful nor discouraged for He would be with them wherever they went-with God in charge there is never a need for Plan B!
Dear God, thank you for being with us today, tomorrow and forever.
You’re Brother in Christ,
Fred Ailes