Week 29: Day 1

Intro: Hello and welcome to Orbit. I’m Clare, and this week I’ll be helping the Satellites team with your quiet time as we think about God, life and faith. So, each day we’ll have a bible reading, I’ll share some thoughts on the passage and then we’ll pause to pray. We’ll also be exploring practical ways to reflect upon the bible readings.

Bible: Today's reading comes from Exodus chapter 18:5-9

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent word to him, ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.’

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.

Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.

Thoughts: In this passage, Moses, is visited by his father-in-law, Jethro. Zipporah, Moses’s wife, and their sons had been staying with Jethro and so the visit was a lovely family reunion. I’m sure that Moses would have been thrilled to see his wife and sons, to catch up with them and see how much they’d grown, but the topic of conversation isn’t just family matters; Moses is keen to talk about God.

We know from previous chapters in Exodus, that Moses had seen God work in miraculous ways. In Egypt he had a stand-off with Pharoah’s magicians; Moses had seen the ten plagues invade Egypt, and, most exciting of all, Moses had seen the parting of the Red Sea! God had delivered the people of Israel out of slavery. No wonder the conversation quickly turns to the great things God had done!

But now Moses and the people of Israel are camping in the wilderness. They’re free from slavery but not properly settled anywhere. The wilderness probably wasn’t what they signed up for! Moses has the hard task of managing this group of people, who often complained and even wanted to go back to Egypt! And yet, even in the ‘space between’, the uncomfortable place of transition, Moses chooses to remember and rejoice in what God has done.

How about us? Are we in a situation which is less than ideal? Did you apply to a certain college but didn’t get the place? Has God helped you with an assignment but you didn’t quite get the top marks you were hoping for? Perhaps you’ve moved to a different place with your family but you’re finding it hard to settle in and make friends. In these less than perfect moments, can we choose to count our blessing instead of focusing upon what we don’t have?

Pray: Lord thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for every blessing. Help me to be grateful and content even in times of discomfort. Amen.

Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.

Action: Here’s our practical step for today…Either make a list all the good things you have experienced from God over the past year. Write them down and pray a prayer of thanks for each one .Or message, phone or talk to a family or church member/friend, and remind them of something God has done in your life, or even their life. Spend some time chatting over the details to remind yourself of God’s goodness, even though you may be facing a difficult circumstance.

Outro: Thanks so much for joining today’s Orbit! Tune in tomorrow for another reflection.