23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward.
Hebrews 11:23-26
The writer of Hebrews now points us to a small baby born into our list of heroes and heroines. Sometimes seemingly small events change the course of our lives. Perhaps you were pulled over and given a ticket only to resume your journey and discover that interruption prevented you from being in an accident. The guy you were sure was your prince charming but he rejected you but the man you married was a good match. The United States in fighting to separate from England wanted to replace the British units of measure. Thomas Jefferson sent Joseph Dombey to France to learn about the metric system. The British took hostage Dombey’s ship and he died imprisoned in England. So today we measure by yards and not meters.
The descendants of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph avoided a famine by going to Egypt where they grew multiplied and eventually became slaves. It would be easy to believe God had forgotten his promises and his people. In God’s time, though, a child was born in slavery, hidden in the Nile, found by the Pharaoh’s daughter and the story has been made famous in film.
It is so easy to become frustrated when we go through rough times and to think that God has forgotten us. My husband was adopted from an embarrassing WW2 liaison. The unwanted child became my husband, father of seven, and became a translator putting an unwritten language into print so people can read and communicate when separated. We just don’t know the end of our life stories. Let us pray for patience and trust in the unseen God who is leading us to a yet to be experienced future. This week we will celebrate Thanksgiving and reaffirm our hope for a better future because we know God is working our rough days into a future that brings him glory.
On the Way to Wonder 