His Plan, His People II

Ex.5:¹ “Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’” (NRSV, emphasis added).

The centre of that great vision that God has planted in your heart has to be God and people. Do not assume that because God has spoken to you it means you can achieve your purpose alone. Moses tried to do it alone and it landed him forty years in the wilderness. God spoke to Moses, Moses needed Aaron, and they needed the leaders of the Jews. Ex.4:^29-31 “Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together. Aaron told them everything the Lord had told Moses, and Moses performed the miraculous signs as they watched. Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.”

You cannot achieve your purposes in God alone, you need people. None of us is as strong as all of us. Even if you are as strong as a lion, a lion that is alone is vulnerable and can be attacked by hyenas. A lion that is alone, no matter how strong it is, is a prey. But two lions, four lions, an entire pride of lions is impenetrable. I was reading a blog some time ago and the writer was saying that no author can self-edit their work, no matter how talented they are. No one stands alone, you cannot. Guess what? The people you are connected to determine the door you can walk through. The people you are connected to determine the level you can operate in. The people you are connected to determine the protection that is available for you.

One of the things that disconnect us from God and people is ingratitude. Anything you do not value, you will lose. Anything you do not appreciate will walk out of your life. That is why in God’s Favourite House, we dedicate one Sunday in a month to thanksgiving. We have to be deliberate with showing gratitude to God and to the people in our lives. It does not matter how close your friend is, if you are ungrateful for that friendship and you keep treating it with disdain, over time you will lose that friendship. If you are ungrateful for your spouse, over time you will lose the marriage. If you are ungrateful to God, you will have a problem with your vertical relationship. And once you have a problem with your vertical relationship, your horizontal relationship becomes a problem.

God said, “…Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”. You can have a party with strangers, but you can only celebrate with people that you appreciate, with people you are grateful for. And you can only worship a God that you are grateful for. The reason people are unable to worship or struggle with worship is that they do not appreciate God. When you really appreciate God, worship flows from your heart effortlessly. You are coming out of ‘Egypt’, but you need people, and you need to be grateful.

Prayer: Father, I am grateful for You and the relationships You have brought my way. I ask for the grace to remain grateful in and for these relationships, in Jesus Name. Amen!