Exodus 6:28-29 “Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, ²⁹ he said to him, “I am the Lord…”

The famous preacher A. W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Our understanding of who God shapes our understanding of the world and our place in it. Modern individualism places the self at the center of existence. Phrases like, “my body, my choice” and “find your authentic self” reveal a philosophy that places all authority within the individual. This seems great when we are trying to justify our personal decisions, but it eventually fails us. It turns out we make for lousy gods. Our own desires run contrary to each other. We feel this when we are forced to deal today with consequences of decisions we made yesterday. 

Instead, the Bible reveals a God who is the maker of the world and the definer of reality. We either submit to reality or we kick against it. I have a short brick wall surrounding a tree on the parsonage patio. I can deny its existence all I want, but if I kick it I can expect one thing—a broken foot. If the Word of God is true and God is who he says he is, we should expect that when we rebel against him that there will be negative consequences. While we as Christians do not rejoice in the brokenness of this world, it does bear witness to the truth of the Bible’s claims. A humanity in rebellion against God bears the fruit of misery. This pain and misery is a cry from nature itself, calling us to repentance. This too is God’s mercy. 

Moses had to learn that what God said about him was far more important than what Moses thought about himself. While Moses was dominated by his own failures and weakness, the reality was that God had called him and redeemed him. Pharoah thought he was a god but was soon to learn that he was just as powerless as the meanest enslaved Israelite in his kingdom. God’s mercy is shown in that he does not let us persist in our sin. When we run into the force of reality, our pain should cause us to stop and adjust course. 

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminds us as Christians that although we were once “dead in our trespasses and sins” we have been saved by the grace of God and are now made alive. Our lives are living testimonies of the riches of God’s grace. It is God’s purpose to exalt us and to show off his awesome power and love through us. We should embrace the blessed reality of our redeemed situation: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Like Moses we have a task. We have good works to do. As we submit to God and do his will, we show of the creative goodness of God through our lives. Believe who God says he is and live in the reality of your new status in Christ. Reject the twin lies of self-determination and self-condemnation and strive to live boldly in the grace of Christ.