“I Have Heard Their Cries”

Friday, 15 January 2021

“And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” – Exodus 3: 9-11 NIV

The children of Israel were living in misery in the land of their oppressors. They cried out to their creator for years, asking him to free them from these tormentors. Their collective prayers made their way to the heavens and some of them may have even felt that these prayers fell on deaf ears. Like Gideon’s time, some may have even felt that the GOD of their forefathers had forsaken them.

In our walk with the LORD, we often get to a time where the only way out is for GOD Himself to intervene, where there is no plan B and GOD is our only plan. Like in Psalm 137, the situation seems so dire that even our tormentors are asking us about our GOD. “Where is this GOD you used to go on about?”. Our family members and loved ones are in anguish, and to some people, we Christians are not any different from everyone else. In a situation that seems like challenges are affecting more Christians than non-Christians (we are burying a lot of believers).

What encourages me about the above scripture is that the cries never fell on deaf ears, GOD had never forgotten or forsaken His children. He heard every single prayer and had already made a way out. It’s in these dire situations that His intervention and breakthrough will be seen by everyone (Psalm 23:5). Like the Israelites in Egypt, when we leave the land of our oppressors we will be richer than when we arrived, we will plunder their land.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NIV). It may end in tears for the world but for us in exceeding joy. Our collective prayers have been heard by our Father and He has already made a way for us. Like in Daniel (Daniel 10:10-21) the moment our prayers went out, an answer from Heaven had already been dispatched. Ours is to continue earnestly praying knowing that our Father is always at work (John 5:17).

It may end in tears for the world but for us [Christians] in exceeding joy