The other day I saw an old man shopping. He was in one of those electric carts supplied by most stores. With him was a young woman. As they ventured down the different aisles, he would point at something and she would retrieve it and place it in the basket on the front of his cart. But every now and again and argument would take place. It seemed there was something he would want that she knew he should not have. This fascinated me, because most of the time when it happened he would seem to insist the item was needed but the girl stayed firm. It was a true duel of wills. Him out of assumed need and her out of concern for his wellbeing. What I thought was so cool about this was she never seemed to lose her patience.
I truly admire that trait. Patience is something I find myself in short supply of. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit I have had to pray about daily. It is the same when I read the Bible. I marvel at those who exemplify its quality more than any other. There are many who come to mind, but I do not think anyone can top the Old Testament patriarch Moses in the patience department except Jesus himself.
Can you imagine spending 40 years wandering around a desert with people you really like and get along with. It would get old really quick. Now think about wandering around that same desert with, oh, about a half a million people who blamed you for every discomfort or problem. Well, that was Moses life, yet he seemed to endure it with remarkable patience and even love for this stiff-necked people. How does something like that happen? I think the answer is not who Moses was but who he became through faith in God.
Some of you know the story of Moses. Born to a Hebrew woman during a time when they were slaves in the land of Egypt. Moses should have died at birth. Pharaoh had degreed that all male Hebrew children should be killed as soon as they were born. Saved by mid-wives, he was placed in a basket and floated in the Nile River. There the daughter of Pharaoh found him. She adopted him. Do you see the hand of God in Moses life?
And even though he was raised as an Egyptian who could have had power and position the book of Hebrews tells us: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”(Hebrew 11:24-25) Choice was important in who he became.
Now comes something in his story that would seem to be the worst choice, “And it came to pass that in those days, when Moses was grown that he went out unto his brethren and looked on their burden, he spied and Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (Exodus 2:11-12) He had not learned patience yet, for sure, and soon he would pay.
The crime became known and Moses once a prince now became a fugitive. How often do I commit impulsive acts and pay lasting consequences? Moses did. He fled Egypt and his people into the land of Midian and there for forty years sojourned with peaceful shepherds. Marrying and settling down. It was here he gained the patience he would need for the next part of his life. Writer Ellen White puts it this way, “Shut in by the bulwarks of the mountains Moses was alone with God. Everywhere the Creator’s name was written. Moses seemed to stand in His presence and to be over-shadowed by His power. Here his pride and sufficiency were swept away. Moses became patient, reverent, and humble, “very meek, above all men which were upon the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) (Patriarchs and Prophets, Chapter 22) Moses was no longer the prideful prince who believed he could do God’s work by his own power. Moses surrendered his life to the will of God. Over the next forty years that patience would be tried endlessly but he shared the burden with his God. Moses the man God called ‘His friend’ chose surrender over pride. That is patience.
I was in line behind the old man and young woman as they checked out their groceries. Every now and again, I would hear him grumble under his breath and she would just smile patiently. I smiled with her, admiring, and knowing how often I fall short when tested. It is my prayer today to remember who is in control of my life and surrender pride in return for God’s own patience just like Moses. How about you?
Blessings John
2/7/18
