Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:24-27, Exodus 2:5-15, Exodus 4:19-20, Exodus 5:1-23,1 Peter 4:12-19
After you finish reading today’s scriptures, come back and use the blurb and question here to dig deeper into the themes of faith, hope, obedience, and suffering. Join your fellow Bible readers in the comments to reflect and chat about what you’re learning!
This part of Moses’s story shows how acting in faith through deep heartache and rejection has an eternal outcome—the glory of freedom in and with Christ. Faith in Jesus means seeing present suffering through the lens of God’s provision and goodness and asking Him to reveal how He is with us as we navigate the hard parts of our own stories.
How does this part of Moses’s story help or equip you to respond to God in faith today?
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48 thoughts on "By Faith Moses Chose to Suffer"
I must admit that I find myself frustrated and uneasy on this presidential election day, as one candidate holds views I cannot agree with and the other I find abhorrent for his character, rhetoric and tactics. But what I’ve learned over many months of reading and listening to Scripture with the She Reads Truth community is that above all else, my focus must be on my own work of deepening my understanding of God and His Word, trusting in His sovereignty and will, and actively loving my church family and local community. So today I will do what I know I can – vote (once!) and pray (continually!). And take heart in the knowledge that so many others here and elsewhere are quietly doing the same.
This Bible study and passages were meant for me today! I have been struggling and wrestling with God over my friend with brain cancer. She is a beautiful light of Jesus to others and while at first her treatment was going really well, things are currently not going well and she is suffering. I have been crying out to God for her, for relief, and for healing. This was so comforting to read that His timing is for our good, it’s for his plan, and it’s for things we cannot see. God we thank you for your goodness and mercy. Even if we don’t see healing on this side of heaven, we know that you have a plan and are working all things for the good of those who love you. Prayers over her this morning. And prayers for our country as we face the unknown.
There was a line in today’s reading that stood out to me of Moses going out to his people and looking upon their burdens… something like that. How often are we blind to the suffering of others, out simply choose to ignore it? I consider that along with the Hebrew passage, how Moses didn’t choose the luxurious life of the Egyptians, but instead saw the suffering and burdens that his people faced and chose to enter into that with them. He knew there was significance in that and that his difficulties and hardships would be worth it in the long run. He chose the eternal over the temporary. And he chose what was honorable and good over what was comfortable and safe.
Also, praying that the Lord’s will be done in the US PresidentI’ll elections today. (I’m in the UK).
Thank you. We need God’s intervention. No matter who is elected.
Good morning! I woke up and grimly said, “Today’s the day” and immediately God said back “that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it” and I busted out laughing. He surprises me like that from time to time. So for all of us who are stressed today, let us picture Jesus laughing and dancing in heaven because he knows the “long view”
Amen, Lanie! Love that gentle rebuke! :) Thanks for sharing! ❤
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It inspires me to keep moving in faith, even when things are hard and I have to move through heartache.
Amen to that Sarah.
Every one of these scriptures today just spoke so deeply to my heart. Especially the I Peter section. I Peter 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.
Amen! It is a very real reality that Christians (true believers who stand for the TRUTH of God’s Word) may be called to suffer in the coming years. I heard on a podcast yesterday that the outcome of the election could be God’s mercy on America and a chance for the Church to stand for Truth and finally be bold enough to move our country back to God OR it could be God’s judgement and Christians will be called to be bold in suffering and declare the Truth with their commitment to God and not man. But either way, God is sovereign. He knows the outcome and will use the outcome of our election to usher in His Kingdom. Just like in Moses’ day. He could have changed the heart of Pharaoh, but instead He allowed it to happen and innocent Hebrew babies died. But His power and His plan ALWAYS wins in the end. This calms my heart as we await election results. I pray for God’s mercy but accept His judgement if it must come to that. Because I know that He is a good, good God and that He truly is working all things together for our good, in His timing.
I HAVE FELT THAT SO SPECIFICALLY THIS WHOLE TIME. That we will either see a great move of mercy or of judgement, and it’s so crazy that it’s kind of in our hands…our country gets to choose which direction it will take. And that’s scary, but also I feel like Abraham making a deal with God, ” if there are 100, what if there are 10, what if there is 1 righteous person in this place, will you spare them” and God does. I have heard it said that a very small percentage of the Israelites actually fled Egypt with Moses. They were the picture of the original remnant, as the others assimilated with the Egyptian culture and stayed. I hope we aren’t in the remnant today, but if we are, we can trust in our outcome!
Many times choosing the right path means choosing the longer path, the more difficult path, the more painful path … Hebrews 11:25 … “choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” as Moses did. Moses’ faith guided him through hard time after hard time as he worked to shepherd an ungrateful group. He didn’t do it perfectly of course, but stayed true to God.
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How often am I ungrateful to the One shepherding me? How many times have I broken my own heart when I realize what I’ve done? Lord, please guide me and strengthen my faith day by day.
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CEE GEE❤️ – Sovereignty, great comment! And thanks for the Booth Bros song – I don’t recall hearing it before, tears were streaming as I listened this morning.
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TAMI – praying for your brother and for you as he is struggling in his fight against the cancer, for a Red Sea miracle, that the Lord will graciously give you the courage and words you need for those tough conversations ❤️
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MARY ANN – praying for your daughter, for healing of the rash and related issues, that she will find strength and courage as she clings to the Lord during this.
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STACEY B – praying for healing of your chronic illness, for total calming of the current flare up
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CAROL J MYLIN – praying for Scott & Deb – that they would grow in their faith, and for the back pain that Deb is experiencing- that this can be evaluated/ scanned quickly to determine the source, praying it’s just a side effect
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Prayers please, sisters, for an acquaintance of ours who I recently learned is trying to, I guess the word is transition. He’s moving several states away so I likely won’t run into him again, but my heart is heavy. Praying for him and others.
♥️ Thanks for your faithful prayers, Dear Searching…!
Anyone who wants to listen to the hymn It is well either my soul, the Audrey Assad version is beautiful ❤️
Thank you! That’s a song that softens my heart and strengthens my heart at the same time. I’m adding it to the playlist I’ve made from the recommendations from this group during the Hebrews study. It’s a lovely blessing.
Moses…what a path…God always has a plan. May I always remember that.
“Seeing present suffering through the lens of God’s provision and goodness and asking Him to reveal how He is with us…”
I feel this is the key to us as believers for being helped and equipped.
How many times do I look through my own “lens” instead of God’s? My lens is blurred and flawed, yet so often I base my reactions and responses on how I perceive things, according to my sight – not God’s.
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Had the midwives been looking through their own “lens” they could have very easily killed all the males, including Moses.
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Had Moses’s mother been looking through her own “lens” she could have given in to fear and kept Moses at home, where he would have been discovered and killed.
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Had Moses been looking through his own “lens”, he never would have returned to Egypt and they would not have been set free from their bondage.
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God sees things so much differently than us. His ways are not our ways. Therefore we must trust Him – the one who sees everything clearly and focused, trust Him for today, and for our future.
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Father God, as we approach today, election day – may we look to You for wisdom & direction. Help us to trust You – who has a perfect lens. Your ways are perfect, Your ways are just and we must trust You completely no matter what the outcome. We do not put our trust in “chariots or horses” we put our trust in You. Please give peace to our hearts, take away any fear or anxiety as we hide under the shadow of Your wings. We love You Father God and trust Your will be done. In Jesus name, Amen.
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Happy Tuesday sweet She’s!
Amen!
Yes, SHARON ❤️, may we strive to look the God’s lens!
*look through God’s lens
So beautifully written, Sharon, thank you. I was just thinking about an aspect of God’s “lens” that I never really considered before, and that is time. So often answers to prayer seem to happen so slowly and I wonder why. But God is not in a hurry. He holds time in His hands. He knows our last hour on Earth, He knows when everything will happen, so to merge this truth with the one that was spoken yesterday, “God has a plan for all people to come to a saving knowledge of Him.” So therefore, He determines the right timing for prayers to be answered.
Looking back we see how God was preparing Moses to be Israel’s leader. Raised and educated in royalty. Trained in shepherding, he knew the good and safe places in the wilderness. He understood stubborn and wondering sheep.
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God knows what current our struggles are preparing us for, may we learn the lessons quickly.
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MARY ANN – praying your daughter recovers quickly.
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CAROL J MYLIN – praying Scott and Deb will see their need to follow Jesus’ way.
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TAMI – continuing to pray for BJ
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Lord, we pray for the USA today. May your peace reign. May plans of evil doers be exposed and stopped. May all who are eligible to vote do so. May Your people rise up and to be Your hands and feet regardless of who is elected.
Oh goodness – can’t we be the most stubborn and wandering sheep!
Praying for our country today with you, Kelly.
Amen.
Amen!
Thanks, Dear Kelly for your prayers for Scott and Deb. I appreciate you and your comments! (Incidentally, they have live in OH)
Prayers for each state and USA today …
2 Chronicles 7
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
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19 “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
21 “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”
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Lord, I look around and see wickedness. Humility is difficult to find. So many have forsaken You, Lord, so many. Healing and forgiveness are desperately needed in our land and all lands around the world. Lord, help us and protect us please, today and in the days to come.
Amen
Amen….. Thank you Jesus for this honor and privilege to vote in the USA…God be with our states and country I pray
I think of my mom through this. Ten years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. Everything happened so quickly. It had spread everywhere and there was nothing that could be done. She knew. She knew that she was living in her final days, yet she still always said “I’m okay, God’s got this.” Even though she was scared and hurting, she trusted God, she knew that she would soon be permanently healed from this. She had all of her trust in him. I want to have complete trust in him like that. I want to be able to just hand over all aspects of my life and say God, this is all yours, you have this! I am such a control freak and I don’t like to do that. I always want control of every situation, even when I can’t really control it. I strive for that kind of faith, fully giving him control and complete trust in all aspects of my life.
I understand your mom. I was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer 8 years ago. My oncologist said with treatment I could live 1-3 years. I told him then that I would beat those odds. Six years and 78 treatments later, I quit treatment because of the damage it caused my body. I wanted quality of life over quantity. I had my last treatment in February 2022 and at that time my oncologist said 12-15 months in which I replied you don’t know my Jesus. Here I am 20 months later and still giving all the glory to God. The day I was diagnosed 8 years ago, I handed it over to God and said I can’t do this on my own.
For some reason, my mind went to the faith – or lack thereof – of the Israelites in Egypt instead of Moses’ faith. It reminds me of how long drawn out times of suffering or disappointment can “make our heart sick” as it states in Proverbs 13. Exodus 6 tells us ‘the people did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery’.
Father, may we remember that Your promises are always good and guaranteed – even when the timing is a struggle. Forgive our faint hearts and uphold us by Your mighty right hand through all the struggles and challenges of this life.
Amen.
So true
Thank you for the prayers for America ❤️. Keep them coming and may God’s Will be done. I have nothing but to Trust you Father. May Your Peace be on all of us.
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My daughters friend, Emma, mother of 5, found out at the end of summer she has stage 3 breast cancer. I cried. We gathered a week before her first chemo, pledged our support and I prayed God would be in this whole process that is unfolding through tears.
Two weeks ago, on the group chat, on a video call i witnessed her having her beautiful, pride and joy hair being shaved off.. I balled.
Emma has always been a cheery person, one who hides her real feelings in terms of always wanting to make sure we all are okay and smiling, rather than be sad in what is going on in her life.. nothing has changed on this journey she is on. When she told me about the cancer, she joked “it’s okay, I get to have reconstructed ones and I can choose the size..” she smiled.
When we gathered before chemo the same, she kept changing the subject so as it was not about her but us.. she was making us feel easy..
The day of the shave, I balled on line, she kept us entertained.. with lines like ” if I had known how pretty my head was I might have done this sooner” she sure does look beautiful..
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Emma, is not a believer, but through this, I am seeing a strength, a determination that she will be fine.. she has to be. She fights through the darkness of this, determined, that this is here and she will go through it on her terms, peacefilled as best she can. For 10 days after chemo she is in much pain, much unease and for sure is emotional, she is drained, and unable to do much, but like the old adage say, “there day may not have gone so well, but there is always good in the day..” something like that! She finds it, she smiles through the situation.
Life has thrown her lemons, no doubt..
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BUT GOD..
…has also shown her how to make lemonade, to make life sweet and though the tart is sharp and sweet, life is like that too.
Moses believed, he knew of the God who walked with his ancestors. The God who is forever for His people.. always.
Emma, does not have Moses’ faith.. YET
BUT GOD..
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I continue to pray to Father God, each day for her, her children and all involved on this journey and season she walks..
Lord, in your mercy, hear the cries of this ‘adopted mother’ and give Emma continued peace as she goes for her next chemo session tomorrow.. May her mantra be ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. You are the Most High God, in whom I have lived the best parts of my life knowing, not in my own strength, but yours. I pray this for Emma, Lord God..May she know your presence, love and care on this journey.. in Jesus’ name, I pray..
BUT GOD..
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AMEN.
Sorry for the missive, I was only going to use Emma as a small example..
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Blessings galore winging their way to each address today.. wrapped in love and prayers for the Americas (especially) as life may change for them.. please God for the good..❤️
Thank you, TINA ❤️, beautiful ‘missive’ today. Praying for Emma, for salvation especially and tomorrow’s (and future) treatments.
Praying that Emma’s journey leads her to surrendering her heart to Jesus.
Tina, praying for Emma and her family. Especially praying that she will come to know Christ soon. ❤️
Praying for Emma
Yes, I agree with these ladies. May Emma see Christ in all of this. Thank you for sharing ❤️
Good morning SRT sisters. Praying from Canada today.
No matter the outcome of the day, our King is on the Throne.
‘For dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.’ Psalm 22:28
Amen, He has us (all of us) in His hands
Amen!! ❤️