Sometimes faith, hope, and love seem so lofty that they must be beyond an ordinary person such as me. At that point, it helps to picture some of the people in Scripture as if they were folks next door. At eighty-plus years old (will I even live that long?), Moses “left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (Hebrews 11:27). (How could that be? I fear the IRS.)
Moses didn’t pay attention to Pharaoh because he was only part of the realm of “the seen.” He stuck with his goal of delivering Israel because he saw the One who is invisible but nevertheless real. “For he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen” (11:27). Because of Moses’ hope and confidence in God (most of the time), this stunning, aged leader lived an adventurous, dramatic, and God-infused life without fear.
When I picture myself interviewing him, I imagine him saying that the entire Exodus event was so obviously beyond him and in God’s power that he felt as if he were simply watching God do it (see Isaiah 63:11-13).
No wonder Moses managed to be the most humble person on earth (see Numbers 12:3). He could lead and direct without pride. Could I live “as seeing Him who is unseen”? I imagine that if Moses heard me say that in the interview, he would probably wink at me and ask, “What if I’d stayed behind in Midian herding sheep? Look what I would have missed!” This picture (vision) of Moses inspires me to intend to live in confidence and hope and diligently look for the means.
TODAY’S EXPERIMENT - If you sense that you lack the faith, hope, and love described above, reflect on the life of Moses, a real person (a former murderer hiding out in Midian). Imagine what it would be like to be Moses and genuinely not fear the most powerful person on earth. Imagine what it would be like to live with the hope of a promised land you’ve never seen but you know is real. How would such confidence and hope draw you into a deeper love of God? An overflowing desire to worship God? What would it make you want to say to God?
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