I was reading Psalm 119 and the last verse grabbed my attention, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments” (Psalm 119:176).
The words “seek your servant” especially jolted me.
Often, I confuse the ways of the God with the ways of the world and vice versa. Sometimes I am so lost and confused about what is right and wrong that I am as dumb as a sheep. When this happens, I need God to seek me out, because I have become so lost, I will not recognize Him or His ways. This psalmist’s words are my words too. In the moment of reading them I inwardly screamed, “Seek me out, Lord! For I cannot find my own way home to you!”
And then… And then… In the silence of my heart, I heard Him to say to me, “I am.” And I responded (rather rudely, I admit) with, “what?”
And He said again, “I am.”
And then I interrogated Him with impatience and annoyance saying, “How? How are you seeking me out? With a global pandemic? With the loneliness of quarantine? With a winter storm that has pipes freezing and bursting? You take away our water! You take away our warmth! You take away our loved ones! How on Earth are you seeking me out?”
But He is patient, and He reminded me of the story in The Book of Exodus with the Ten Plagues of Egypt. And I questioned Him again saying, “what?”
I did some research. Those plagues were not incidental, meaningless, or without significance. Let me explain:
After Moses asked kindly for Pharaoh to “Let my people go” (Ex. 5:1) Pharaoh’s first response was to make the enslavement of the Israelites even more harsh. As a result, God warned Pharaoh, then sent the plagues.
Plague 1: Water to Blood (Exodus 7:14-25)
The Nile’s water was Egypt’s source of power and security. There were several Egyptian gods whose life source were said to be drawn from the Nile. By turning the Nile’s water into blood, God was showing his dominance over the Egyptian gods, their god’s life source, and was asking the Egyptians to come to Him, to do His will, and let Him take care of them. He was showing them that he is more powerful than any other gods. He is the One True God.
Plague 2: Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)
The Egyptians had a god called Heqt who was often depicted with the head of a frog. By plaguing Egypt with frogs and abolishing them on Moses’ command, God was showing his supremacy over the Egyptian gods and saying to the Egyptians, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your god Heqt. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 3: Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19)
The Egyptians had a god called Geb who they believed had dominion over the dust of the earth. By having gnats come up from the dust of the Earth, God was again showing his authority over the gods of Egypt and saying, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your god Geb. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 4: Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)
Khepri was the Egyptian god of creation, movement of the sun, and rebirth. Khepri was believed to have the head of a fly. By swarming the Earth with so many flies that the Egyptians could not leave their houses, God demonstrated his power over another one of Egypt’s gods saying, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your god Khepri. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 5: Sick Cattle (Exodus 9:1-7)
The Egyptians had a god named Hathor, the god of fertility, who was often depicted with a cattle’s head. By plaguing the Egyptians, and only the Egyptians, with sick cattle, God was illustrating his dominance over the Egyptian’s gods and saying, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your god Hathor. Let me take care of you! I am the one True God!”
Plague 6: Skin Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
Isis was the Egyptian goddess of health and Imhotep was the Egyptian god of healing. By plaguing the Egyptians, and only the Egyptians, God was demonstrating his power over the Egyptian gods, saying, yet again, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your gods. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 7: Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
A hailstorm would have been a bizarre occurrence in Egypt in those days and this one was strong enough to destroy the Egyptian livestock and agriculture. This plague symbolized God’s power over the goddess Nut, who was goddess of the sky, and her father, Shu, who was god of wind and air. For the seventh time, God was saying to the Egyptians, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your gods. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 8: Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
In this plague God revealed his dominance over the Egyptians god and goddess of grain. The plague of Locusts ate the grain planted by the Egyptians. Again, God was saying to the Egyptians, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your gods. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 9: Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
In the plague of darkness, Egypt’s sun did not shine for three days. Ra, the most revered god in of the Egyptians was called god of the sun and was considered the most powerful of all the Egyptian gods. By taking away the sun for three days, God was showing that He is more powerful than Ra, the strongest, most revered god of Egypt. For the ninth time, God says the Egyptians, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your gods. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Plague 10: Death of the First Born (Exodus 12:29-36)
This plague was God showing justice to the Egyptians. In Exodus chapter 1 Pharaoh demanded the lives of all the Israelite’s firstborn. Now, after nine plagues God makes known His power and justice to the Egyptians by demanding their firstborn sons. By preserving the lives of the Israelite’s sons, He showed the Egyptians that He is not only more powerful and more just than their gods, He is also more powerful than life and death. For the tenth time God says to the Egyptians, “Come to me and do my will. I am more powerful than your gods. Let me take care of you! I am the one true God!”
Now, LET ME BE CLEAR. I am NOT saying that this pandemic and this Texas ice storm is due to someone or some people not doing God’s will. I am saying that even in the mists of our struggles, brokenness, and suffering, God calls us to him. I am asking us to question, what might God be saying to us during this time of struggle, brokenness, and suffering? I cannot say for you, but for me it is this:
SLOW DOWN, REST, and PRAY!
The Egyptian plagues had a common theme of God showing that the Egyptians were not worshiping the one true God and that He is more powerful than all other gods.
In the pandemic and Texas ice storm there is the theme of STOP. SLOW DOWN. PRAY. Before the pandemic, my friends and I often complained of being tired all the time. We eagerly reached for second and third cups of coffee, energy drinks, or soda. We complained (or bragged) about how little sleep were getting and how much we had to do. Then pandemic took everyone into the silence of their homes, away from the demands of their jobs, schoolwork, hobbies, and gave us time to pray. It was kind of nice…
But fast forward into the middle of the pandemic and most of us are back at work, with even more to because of all the extra covid-19 protocols.
(Sound familiar? God asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites be set free from slavery and Pharaoh responded by enslaving them more. God asks us to rest, to stop enslaving ourselves, and we respond by making our lives busier.)
And when we (Texas) ignored this and went right back to worshiping our busy lives instead of taking time for Him, low and behold! An ICE STORM IN TEXAS. The storm wiped away our power, our internet, and in some cases our cell phone service. We were (are) left in the dark with nothing but prayer to occupy ourselves.
Could God be any clearer? He is calling us to rest in Him and with Him! We are overwhelmed with the duties of the world and all its insignificant demands and success.
When we are isolated in our homes with nothing to do and when we cannot connect with others, we must go to Him. We are made and designed for connection—with our Creator. We cannot be satisfied without taking time for Him.
While I do not think it is necessary that we all quit our jobs, schoolwork, hobbies, etc., we need to find balance. When we at look our world, its history, we find that there is purpose and design amongst the chaos.
God was there for the Israelites when they were slaves to the Egyptians. He was there for the Egyptians during the plagues. He has power and might over all the Earth. He is here for us now and He is seeking us out. Let us answer Him with rest and prayer.
Always enjoy your inspiration