“The kingdom of God is more worthy of our attention and affection than anything this world has to offer.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 22, 2024
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26, NIV
Hebrews 11 famously recounts the heroes of the family of God, men and women who “by faith” trusted in the goodness of God and his protection and provision, even in the most dire and desperate of circumstances. Within this list of “saints,” we find an extended celebration of the life and witness of Moses. And while Moses perhaps is most frequently remembered for things like the plagues or the parting of the sea, his hope in the kingdom to come most deeply moves my heart today.
Moses’ success as a leader was tied to his ability to hold out a vision before the people of God and continually keep it before their eyes. Throughout their journey, the people of Israel often found themselves weary and worn down by their struggles in the wilderness. Though they’d heard of the promised land, their lived experience told a different story! This frustration and disillusionment reach a climax in Exodus 14, when they say to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (Exodus 14:11-12).
Have you ever found yourself in a similar place in your life with Christ? Perhaps your faith early on was filled with hope and anticipation, yet as the years passed, life’s sorrows and struggles began to weigh you down, making the “promised land” feel further and further away. Or, as is often the case, our sight is easily diverted, turning away from our eternal hope and instead fixing our hearts and eyes upon the pleasures and passions of this world.
In moments such as these, let us once again look to the example of Moses, who rejected the “fleeting pleasures of sin” and instead clung to the promise that the kingdom of God is greater and more worthy of our attention and affection than anything this world has to offer. And so, even in our weariness and exhaustion from years in the wilderness, let us commit ourselves afresh to looking ahead to the reward that is eternal and abundant life with God.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the witness of Moses. May we, like him, reject the fleeting pleasures of sin and place our hope fully upon you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Take time today to read all of Hebrews 11, giving thanks to God for the cloud of witnesses that encourage us to follow their faithful example.
Related Reading
Psalm 84:10; Romans 8:18; Philippians 3:7-8
Worship Resource
St. Alban’s, Bristol: All My Hope On God Is Founded
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