#JESUS2020 - Daily DevotionalsSample

The people of Israel had now been in Egypt for more than 400 years. In the beginning, everything was pretty good. Through his clever planning, the great Joseph made it possible for them to escape a famine in their country. Their development could not have been better: economic success, healthy families, peace. But what initially looked so good led to envy. The Egyptians distanced themselves more and more from these successful refugees. Their homes were relocated, their working areas separated, and their culture attacked. When the new Pharaoh came to power, the mood changed completely. The initial welcoming culture was replaced by sheer hatred. Israel was enslaved, oppressed and abused. They became prisoners in a foreign country. The violence reached its peak when the Pharaoh passed a law to kill all newborn Hebrew boys. Moses miraculously survives and even grows up in the royal court of Pharaoh. He receives the best education in the country. But Moses stumbles over his violent temper. After he kills an Egyptian warden in a quarrel, he has to flee. With him, the last hope of the Hebrews is drawn into the desert. There is no more perspective for the prisoners. Forty years later, this same Moses has a spectacular encounter with a burning bush. A voice becomes audible and the message is, “I, God, have seen, heard and know how things are going for you!” At the absolute lowest point, God appears on the scene and Moses bombards Him with questions, “God, where have you been? Have you been sleeping for the last 100 years? Have you somehow missed out on what is going on? Do you have even the slightest idea of what we have been going through?” Moses could sound like this or similar. But God precedes him. Before He can say anything, He makes it clear that He knows everything. He knows every moment. He has seen all the suffering, every pain, every tear. God is there. ## ACTION STEP: Are there areas or things in your life where you feel God is far away and does not know what is going on? Do you long for a new freedom from a situation of captivity? Say a prayer today, “Father in heaven, where are You? I want to seek You with all my heart, and I am ready to meet You. Amen.“ ##### Mike Schmidt, ICF Reutlingen