Acknowledged

This morning I was reading in Exodus and I stopped and thought about this one verse for a long time. It’s the last verse of chapter 2. The children of Israel have been enslaved and are being afflicted by Egypt. We of course, know the story and know they are being set up for a huge deliverance. But they don’t know that yet even though it was prophesied by Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph.

The verse says this: So, God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. That’s a lot of action words. He heard, remembered, looked, and acknowledged them. And the very next chapter is where God seeks out Moses to be His deliverer.

In chapter 4, Moses and Aaron show up and explain to the elders what God is up to. They have an active response to the promises. In verse 31 it says, So the people believed, and when they heard the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Their deliverance was still a long way off, and we are going to watch it unfold over the next chapters. Deliverance had not yet come, but the process had started. Nothing physically changed from verse 30 to 31. They were still in bondage. They were still going to get up in the morning and work under harsh taskmasters. But their response and outlook were different. They believed God had visited them and they worshipped.

God visited them in the midst of their pain, in the middle of their storm, and in their affliction. He didn’t wait for their situation to “get better.” He didn’t shun them because He didn’t know what to do with them or for them. He acknowledged them.

The caregiving road can be filled with pain, suffering, and regret. It can feel like we are carrying a load that gets heavier with every step. And God knows that. He sees us. He remembers us – even when life seems to forget us. Now it’s up to us to respond in worship. But if there’s anything we do know as caregivers – it’s laying our lives down. And that’s the heart of worship.

Today, I will let my response be one of worship. As life presses my heart, I will be grateful that He acknowledges my situation and my pain. I will be thankful that He remains faithful to His promise to Abraham and that I am an heir to that promise. I’ll lay my life down on the altar of this life and I will continue to declare He is my God. And that is where freedom lives. Will you join me?