Tragedy into triumph

The princess told the woman, ‘Take this baby and feed him for me, and I will pay you.’ So she took the baby and fed him. Later, when the child was old enough, she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, ‘I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.’ (verses 9,10)

Read Exodus 2:1–22

The order had gone out. Every male child born to the Israelites was to be killed. A desperate mother sought to save her child by means of a last-ditch stratagem: she made a floating basket and hid her child in the river reeds. The trick failed. All seemed hopeless.

Ironically, the person who found the baby was the daughter of the ruler who had issued the death sentence on the Hebrew children. Against all expectations, her heart was moved to pity, and she decided to save the baby and keep him as her own. In this way the child the king tried to kill, who was destined to rescue his people, became a member of the king’s own household.

What are the forces of evil ranged against you? Are you a victim of discrimination, prejudice, injustice? No matter how bad things might seem, God can work through those circumstances and bring you through them.

Lord, make me brave in the face of any evil ranged against me. Help me to trust your ability to turn tragedy into triumph. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

by Richard Hauser, in ‘Refreshment for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2003)

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