Thought for the day - Wednesday 22 April

Thought for the Day – Wednesday 22^nd April

A shorter reading today taken from the fuller reading of Exodus 15: 1-11 – here are verses 1-3:

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.

This song is sung just after the Israelites have gone through the Red Sea on their escape from Egypt and the Pharaoh and witnessed all the Egyptians being drowned. No wonder they are delighted, they put their trust in God and fled Egypt and he did not fail them, he saved them, and so they are exultant.

Of course, we know later in the story as they endlessly journey around the wilderness that they have their moments of faith and belief and their moments of doubt and rebellion. However, they always come back to God – their strength and their might and their salvation.

Isn’t it amazing, in these strange times just how many of our daily readings bring us back to the same themes!

So many of our readings in these past days have been ones of God’s faithfulness to us no matter what we face, of his presence with us at all times, of his being on ‘our side’ and loving us unconditionally bringing us reassurance and hope in this our time of ‘exile’.

We just need to believe these things!

I love the idea that the Israelite people feel compelled to burst into song when they are deliver by God and when their relationship with him is strong – they do it almost every time!  It got me wondering what our exultant songs would be when we get through this time – what popular songs would we sing – what hymns would we choose to praise God to show how thankful we are to be back to our ‘new normal’ – whatever that will be!

There’s a challenge for you in your time of isolation – why not list the songs most relevant to you – secular or sacred – that would speak to you of your thankfulness to God for seeing you through this difficult time.   

I know when I read this passage today – I immediately began to sing Noel Richards song – Warrior – whose chorus says this:  

The Lord is a warrior, we will march with him. The Lord is a warrior, leading us to win.

Go on make your list - starting today!

Prayer

Loving Lord, In all our difficult times we are thankful that we can still praise you, for you are ever with us and with all who need your presence now – we think of those in hospital, those alone, those missing loved ones and all who seek your care at this time. Lord, give us thankful, responsive hearts that we might reach out to all in need of your presence at this time. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.