Plagues: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

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Plagues

Israel obeyed out of fear

from plagues numbered

now at crisis and a

desperate need for

leadership, so listened

carefully, acted explicitly

to Moses’ ritual, kept

even the surprise of blood

marked door without question.

Moses obeyed out of faith.

Psalm 104:29, “Thou dost hide Thy face, they are dismayed; Thou dost take away their spirit, they expire, And return to their dust.”

Reflection: Crisis: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1. When struck by a crisis situation do you immediately react by instinct with a fight or flee reaction, or do you look for direction from others and/or God?

2. In what ways has your response to a crisis brought hope into the situation or created more conflict?

3. If you followed a leader through your experience, what qualities made you trust them without question? Were they genuine?

4. How has the Lord carried you through confusing or unfathomable actions to safety?

Share: What key lessons have you incorporated into your life that you will rely on when another crisis occurs?

Crisis: By Faith: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:28, “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

Crisis

Moses trusted God. He had heard His voice and seen the unbelievable. Moses saw God work through tangible things—a burning bush, a shepherd’s staff, the river Nile. Even when Pharaoh’s sorcerers mimicked him, Moses could identify God’s power.

Now, in the face of the plagues, he was called to enact a ritual with no understanding of why or what or how.

Still he obeyed—knowing the one who spoke the words—even when they didn’t make any sense. Knowing only the Lord had the power to free them forever.

Neither Moses nor Israel knew this Passover would also become a sustaining ritual for their people. An ongoing picture book of hope and grace and redemption and restoration. A ritual so complex that theologians have wrestled with its meaning for centuries, and yet, still one that a young child could grasp its truth.

How often do we face a crisis, seek help through prayer, and receive an answer that seems to make no sense? Then think we misunderstood and find a different solution. Instead of embracing the unfathomable we accept only the measurable and concrete. And lose the opportunity to experience a rescue with story power. A story of meeting God that will last us our whole lives. A story that will sustain our faith throughout all the crises yet to come.

Lord, please give us eyes to see Your refuge and courage to trust in You alone.

Your thoughts,