Recap Exodus 10-11: Light Amidst Darkness; Peace Amidst Wailings

In Exodus, we see a striking phenomenon that feels more relevant today than ever. When the ninth plague hit, a darkness so thick it could be "felt" descended upon Egypt. According to Exodus 10:23, the darkness was so absolute that no one moved for three days. Yet, in the very same country, the Bible tells us there was light in the dwellings of the Israelites.

1. Our Light is Not Dependent on the World’s Sun

The darkness of the world—the economic shifts, the cultural unrest, the fear—should not dictate the atmosphere of a believer's life. We aren't just surviving the dark; we are the places where the light still shines. In fact, the darker the world gets, the more brilliant and distinct our light should appear.

2. Peace in the Midst of the Wailing

The contrast deepened with the final plague. Exodus 11:6–7 describes a cry throughout Egypt unlike any heard before or since—a wailing over the loss of the firstborn. But among the Israelites? Not even a dog barked.

Think about that:

• The World: Utter anguish and loud lamentation.

• God's People: Divine silence and total tranquility.

3. Let the Contrast Strengthen Your Faith

The world’s wailing shouldn't disrupt your peace; it should actually strengthen it. When you see the world's systems failing or hear the "wails" of a society without hope, it serves as a sobering reminder of the protection and grace you stand under.

We aren't immune to the presence of the darkness, but we are exempt from its power. While the world is paralyzed by what it sees, we are moved by the One we serve.

Keep your lamps trimmed. The darker it gets, the closer we are to the Dawn.

Recap Exodus 6:30: When Your Weakness Meets His Might

We’ve all been there—standing on the edge of a calling, looking at our own hands, and thinking, "There’s no way."

In Exodus 6:30, Moses does exactly that. He looks at his own limitations and tells God, "Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?" Like Moses, I’ve found myself hesitating because I felt like a "clumsy speaker" or simply ill-equipped for the task at hand.

But here is the beautiful truth: When God calls you to a "Pharaoh-sized" task—whether it’s leading a ministry, breaking a generational cycle, or stepping into a new career—you aren't meant to work in your own power.

Why God Chooses the "Incapable"

If God only asked us to do things we were already good at, we’d never need Him. We’d get the credit, and our faith would stay small.

• It’s Not by Might: You aren't operating by your own strength, but by His Spirit.

• Strength in Weakness: It is specifically in our "faltering lips" and "clumsy steps" that His strength is made perfect.

• The Litmus Test: If you hear a nudge in your spirit to do something you feel 100% capable of doing on your own, it might just be your own ambition talking. God usually calls us to things greater than ourselves so that we have to depend on Him.

Reflection Question

What has God called you to do that feels completely outside your ability?

Stop looking at your "faltering lips" and start looking at the One who gave you breath. If He called you to it, He is responsible for getting you through it.

Recap Exodus 1 - The Midwives’ Defiance: A Study in Biblical Submission

Most Christians are familiar with Romans 13, which calls us to submit to governing authorities. But what happens when those authorities demand that we abandon our godly assignments or violate God’s Word?

The Midwives’ Defiance

In Exodus 1:16-20, Pharaoh gave a horrific decree: the Hebrew midwives were to kill all newborn boys. However, the midwives feared God more than they feared the King of Egypt. Because they chose to preserve life—directly opposing an ungodly command—God did not punish them. Instead, Exodus 1:20 tells us, "God dealt well with the midwives," and the people multiplied.

The Principle of Divine Priority

This isn't a "one-off" story; it is a biblical precedent. We see this echoed in the New Testament:

• Acts 5:29: When ordered to stop preaching the Gospel, Peter and the apostles boldly declared, "We must obey God rather than men."

Application: Submission vs. Compliance

This principle applies beyond government—it extends to our personal lives and marriages.

A Crucial Distinction: Submission to authority (whether a government or a husband) is never a license to sin.

If a wife is faced with an abusive situation or a demand to participate in sexual sin—such as a threesome—she is not biblically required to comply. In fact, her "godly assignment" is to honor the sanctity of the marriage bed and her own body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. To refuse an ungodly demand is not "rebellion"; it is higher obedience to the King of Kings.

Final Thought

Christians are called to be model citizens and partners, but we are not called to blind submission. When human authority opposes divine law, our primary allegiance must always remain with God.

Reflection Questions:

• Identifying the Line: In your own life, how do you distinguish between a "difficult" authority figure you are called to endure and an "ungodly" command you are required to resist?

• The Cost of Conviction: The Hebrew midwives risked their lives to save the Israelite children. What is one area where you feel God calling you to stand firm, even if it carries a social or personal cost?

• The "Fear of God" vs. "Fear of Man": Exodus 1 says the midwives thrived because they "feared God." How does focusing on God’s ultimate authority change the way you view the pressures of the world or the demands of others?

Recap Job:40-42 - Job's Encounter with God's Splendor

We often come to God with a stack of “whys,” hoping He will explain Himself. But the closing chapters of Job remind us that God’s wisdom and majesty stretch far beyond the limits of our logic.

The Incomparable Creator

When God describes Leviathan in Job 41, He isn’t offering a biology lecture. He is unveiling a creature so untamable, so fearsome, that no human can stand against it. The point becomes unmistakable in Job 41:33: “Nothing on earth is its equal—a creature without fear.”

If we cannot even subdue what God has made, how could we ever presume to interrogate the One who made it? The Creator is in a category all His own.

From Information to Encounter

Job’s turning point didn’t come from receiving explanations. It came from encountering God Himself. In the final chapter, Job’s confession reveals the shift:

The Confession:
“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3).

The Transformation:
“My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Job moved from secondhand knowledge to firsthand revelation—and that encounter changed everything.

Why It Matters Today

God is more majestic, more powerful, and more wonderful than anything Job—or any of us—could ever imagine. We need that same kind of encounter to pull our eyes away from our grievances and lift them toward His greatness. Before we question His involvement in our lives, we must first stand in awe of who He is.

He has no equal. His ways are “too wonderful” for our limited sight.

Reflection Questions

Perspective Shift:
Are you viewing God through the lens of your problems, or viewing your problems through the lens of His majesty?

The “Job” Moment:
Job moved from hearing about God to truly seeing Him. What would it look like for you to move from “knowing about” God to experiencing His presence in a real way this week?

Recap Job 38:1 - From Chicago to the DR: Why God Uses Whirlwinds

 

In Job 38:1, God finally answers Job—not with a whisper, but out of a whirlwind. It’s a reminder that while God often uses a "still, small voice," He is also capable of using a storm to get His message across.

I experienced my own "whirlwind" recently. Last year, on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, God woke me up in the middle of the night with a clear instruction: I needed to apologize to someone back home. I had let my "flesh" take the lead in a situation, and like Job, I had spent a lot of time justifying my own innocence.

But God wasn't letting me off the hook.

I felt a sting of sadness realizing that God had to take me all the way from Chicago to the DR just to get me to listen. As Job learned, God’s thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. He loves us enough to pursue us across borders just to align our hearts with His. My goal now? To cultivate a heart posture that hears Him in Chicago, so He doesn’t have to send me to the Caribbean to get my attention.

What about you? Are you listening to the whisper, or do you need a whirlwind?

Caleb’s and Job’s Justice: Learning to Wait on a Righteous God

A Recap of Job 35–36

Last week, justice stopped being a theological concept and became painfully personal.

My son Caleb stepped in to protect a young girl being bullied by three or four young men on a city bus. It was a courageous, instinctive act—the kind we hope our children will choose when faced with cruelty. Instead of gratitude or respect, he was beaten and robbed.

As a parent, something primal awakens in moments like that. You don’t want abstract explanations. You want accountability. You want consequences. You want the gavel to fall now.

Reading Job 35:14 Through Tears

Elihu’s words in Job 35:14 land differently when you’re sitting in an emergency room or listening as your son answers questions from a detective:

“Even though you say you do not see Him,
your case is before Him,
and you must wait for Him.”

When those who harm the innocent seem to walk away untouched, it can feel like God has stepped back—or worse, looked away. But this verse confronts us with a harder, steadier truth: the case is not missing. Heaven has not misplaced the file. Nothing has slipped past the eyes of the Judge.

What we are waiting on is not whether justice will come, but when.

The Defiant Hope of Job 36:17

Job 36:17 reminds us that justice eventually “takes hold.” It may feel delayed, obscured, or absent—but it is not optional. Divine justice operates with a certainty much like gravity: often unseen, sometimes slow, but utterly unavoidable.

To those who bully, steal, and prey on the vulnerable, moments of triumph are fleeting. Not because we hunger for revenge, but because we trust a God who defends the brave and vindicates the wronged. God’s justice does not rush—but it never forgets.

Takeaway

To my son: Your courage was not wasted.
To the watching world: God’s silence is never God’s absence.
To the perpetrators: Justice may be patient, but it never loses its grip.

Reflection Question

Where in your own life are you being asked to trust God’s timing—when everything in you longs for immediate justice, answers, or resolution?

Recap Job 32:8 - The Heart of the Matter: Why Information Isn’t Wisdom

We live in the “Information Age.” Knowledge is everywhere, yet peace feels scarce. The problem isn’t access to information—it’s that we’ve confused intellect with wisdom.

Job 32:8 gives us the real source of understanding:
“It is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.”

Ignorance Is a Heart Issue

We often treat ignorance like a data problem. One more book, one more podcast, one more insight—and we think we’ll finally understand. But the truth is sharper: ignorance begins in the heart.

A person can be highly educated and still spiritually blind if their heart is closed. Real ignorance isn’t the absence of facts; it’s the refusal to yield to the Spirit. A hardened or self-reliant heart blocks the very wisdom we claim to seek.

Wisdom Is Received, Not Achieved

If wisdom were intellectual, only the educated would qualify. But God’s wisdom works differently.

• Intellect says: “I need more information.”
• Wisdom says: “I need more surrender.”

Wisdom comes when we stop trying to outthink life and start leaning into the Spirit within us. It’s not earned through effort—it’s breathed into us by God when our hearts open to Him.

Walking in the Spirit This Week

A few simple shifts help move us from mental overload to spiritual clarity:

• Check your posture: Are you trying to “figure it out,” or are you willing to “yield it up”?
• Quiet the noise: Make space for the Spirit to speak louder than your logic.
• Humble your heart: Acknowledge that your best thinking hasn’t fixed the problem—His breath can.

Final Thought

You don’t need a sharper mind for this season—you need a softer heart. Let the Spirit of God do the heavy lifting today.