DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY August 18, 2022

Our Way or God’s Way

In tough situations, we’re often tempted to rely on our own logic and strength, but God's way is best.

Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So, he looked this way and that, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, ``Why are you striking your companion?" But he said, ``Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and said, ``Surely the matter has become known." When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; … He said to his daughters, ``Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat." Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, ``I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. Exodus 2:11-25

Whenever challenges arise, there are two ways to respond—God’s way or our way. In today’s passage, we see what happened when Moses took matters into his own hands. Although his motives were pure—namely, the relief of his peoples’ suffering—his ethod was wrong. Moses ...

  • Focused on the difficulty instead of the Lord. How often have you and I done the very same thing? If the unfairness or pain of a situation grabs our attention, we can lose sight of our all-powerful God.
  • Relied on his own strength and understanding. When a problem confronts us, the most natural response is to do whatever we can to make it right. Our way may seem so logical at the time, but it won’t accomplish God’s purposes.
  • Acted impulsively instead of waiting on the Lord. If a situation seems urgent, fixing the problem as fast as possible easily becomes our top priority.

At some point, we’ve acted similarly and suffered the consequences of self-reliance. But God didn’t reject Moses or cancel His plans for the man. Instead, the Lord refined his character through trials and gave him another chance. Don’t you think our loving Father will do the same for us?

Listen to Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr. on OnePlace.com
Watch Dr. Michael W. Wesley Sr. on LightSource.com