An Instrument Of God
Saturday, April 20
Exodus 2:5-9 (NIV)
“Then pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you? Yes, go,” she answered. So, the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So, the woman took the baby and nursed him.”
Devotion
When pharaoh’s daughter walked to the river for her bath, little did she know this day would turn out like no other. She had every material advantage anyone could want, but she lacked purpose, and this day would give her a vision and a purpose that would last many years. In a basket among the reeds, she found a baby. The baby boy was Hebrew, there was no doubt. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She knew she could not let him be sacrificed because she believed this baby was a gift from the gods. He would grow up to be great. She knew it. In fact, she would see to it.
So began God’s plan to raise up Moses as a leader to take his people to the promised land. Even though she was an idolater, pharaoh’s daughter was the perfect person in the right place at the right time to be God’s instrument. God can use anyone He chooses to raise up a leader for His people, including an unbelieving Egyptian princess. Pharaoh's daughter raised Moses as her own son and provided every opportunity at her disposal for his education and training as a leader. She certainly had other plans for him.
Moses had given her life purpose and direction even though he broke her heart when he killed an Egyptian and fled for his life. Perhaps she didn’t live to see her adopted son return from the desert as God’s appointed leader, who would face one of the most powerful men on earth, the new pharaoh, who may have been her own brother. Or one can only imagine that she lived to witness Moses’ miracles and the deliverance of his people. It is even possible, although not recorded, that pharaoh’s daughter met the God of Israel along the way.
God’s plans for our lives are beyond our comprehension. Even when things are at its darkest without hope, God is still at work, even using our enemies to bring about our deliverance. This should give us hope when our circumstances are grim that God is behind the scenes working on our behalf to accomplish his purpose for our lives
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for establishing my path and purpose from beginning to end. Keep me steadfast, give me strength and contend with those who contend with me, and may You perfect that which concerns me. It is written in Your Word to call on You and You will answer me and show me great and mighty things. Thank You for watching over me by putting people in my life You use as an instrument to point the way You have for me. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Apply It Today
Miriam, a young child at the time, obeyed her parents and was therefore in the right place and time to move God’s plan for salvation forward. Is there something God is prompting you to do? Don’t think a “small” instruction is insignificant. Do you want more of God? He rewards those who demonstrate faith by obedience in what they know to do and who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
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