Quiet Devotions is a daily devotion based on one of the readings from the Daily Lectionary (as it appears in the back of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Augsburg Fortress, 2006). All biblical quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless otherwise noted. May these devotions help bring you in closer relationship with the Triune God.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Year B, Easter 7, Friday


Inspired by Exodus 24:15-18

“Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.  Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain.  Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.”  Exodus 24:17-18

What would it take for you to willingly walk into what appeared to be your certain death?  What would compel you to climb a mountain and enter into what you saw as a devouring fire?

Moses did it because he was heeding the word of the Lord.  God called to him from the cloud on the mountain and bid him to come.  Moses had seen how God had rescued his people from Egypt, allowed them to cross the waters of the Red Sea, and gave them the laws that would ensure a harmonious community if they followed them.  Moses knew that his life and his future were in the hands of the Lord, and he trusted the Lord when he was called into the fire.  And sure enough, the cloud that seemed to be a devouring fire did not devour him, and he was in the presence of the Lord for many days, receiving instruction about the Lord.

It’s unlikely that most of us will be called into a scene that dramatic, however God still calls us into situations that appear to us to be dangerous, painful, or even foolhardy.  But God has saved us from our sinful selves, and he has our lives and our futures in his hands.  We can trust that while our own eyes may deceive us, our God never will.

Let us pray.  Almighty God, your majesty is frightening to us.  Help us to trust in your mercy and your love, that we may obey when you call us to step beyond what is comfortable to us.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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