Courageous Faith
Read It Aloud: The woman conceived, and bore a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s bank (Exodus 2:2-3).
(ENTIRE PASSAGE: Exodus 2:1-10).
Ponder it Prayerfully: What a brave woman this was. Pharaoh had decreed that all the male children be killed, but here she was, risking her life by refusing to do the same for her child. She looked at him and decided he was special and she was not going to kill him.
Shiphrah and Puah were brave enough to defy Pharaoh, but someone else did so as well. Who was this third brave woman in the story? Her name was Jochebed, and she was the mother of Moses (Numbers 26:59). She was a woman of real faith. Her faith stirred up courage in her. She defied the orders of Pharaoh and somewhere in the making of the ark of bulrushes, we see a belief that this child would not die.
Jochebed’s faith caused her to act. James says faith without works is dead. When we believe the Lord for something, it is our actions that show where our heart truly lies.
Her faith did not mean she was unrealistic, but at the same time it gave her wisdom. She knew that it would be obvious that she was hiding a child so she agreed to move on to the next step. Faith does not allow us to stagnate or backtrack or even panic. She put the child in a safe basket, take him to the river bank and hope that someone would find him. Her daughter, Miriam, stood by to see what would happen.
Her faith was in God and not in herself. That is why she did as much as she could, and left the rest to God. Faith realizes that there are two parts – our part, and God’s. Sometimes our part is to do nothing and just wait, patiently – that is the action. Then God moves. Sometimes it means getting out of our comfort zone and doing the extraordinary: building arks when nobody has seen rain, hiding a baby in a basket, drenching an altar in water and expecting fire to fall from heaven.
Her faith was rewarded at that moment, in that she was able to nurse her own child, even though he was now a prince. She was able to influence his mind while it was still young and must have taught him the ways of God.
Be a Doer (James 1:22): Sometimes we don’t need a Booming Voice or prophetic utterance to tell us that something will happen or should go a certain way. Sometimes we just “know it in our knower” – the Lord just places a confidence in us, a faith that things will not end as they appear to have begun. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, and without it, it is impossible to please God. Jesus marvelled at two things: abundant faith (Matthew 5:10) and lack of faith (Mark 6:6). Where do you and I lie? Are we ready to act?
Hide It In Your Heart (Psalm 119:11): For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).
Pray it Personally: Father in heaven, thank You for this new day and for what You are continually teaching me. To be brave like Jochebed means understanding that Pharaoh has nothing on You and that at the end of the day, all other powers are infinitely inferior to You. Give me the courage to believe You for the impossible even when the odds seem to be against me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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