Living in the Spirit

September 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: Exodus 14:19-31

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’ –Exodus 14:19-25

I lean toward the idea that God works through normal channels of our lives to effect changes needed to bring about God’s vision of our world. God has planted new insights in my thought patterns, opened my eyes to see a challenge differently, led me to speak when I was hesitant, and told me to keep my mouth shut when I should not intervene.  I also am aware of events for which I have no logical explanation except the intervention of God. The Battle of Dunkirk falls in that category as does the exodus from Egypt described in this scripture. I remember watching the scene as a child in the movie The Ten Commandments with wonder, and I have read theological studies trying to explain it away.

God created our world to be interdependent with sufficient resources for all. Thus, any time we break away from supporting that divine plan, we invite folly. Much of our weird and dangerous weather right now results from our failure to care for the earth resulting in climate change.  The Ebola outbreak may have been related to the loss of rain forests. We may be hearing something similar about COVID-19 in a few years. We do know that the availability of the oxygen we breathe is being impacted by deforestation along the Amazon. One out of every five children in Oklahoma is identified as food insecure. Many people across the USA do not earn enough to pay for housing in the wealthiest nation on earth. God’s sufficiently-resourced world was created so that everyone could have enough, requiring us to love one another enough to make that happen.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, open our hearts and minds to loving you by caring for the world you created and all that is within it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.