“I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.
You shall know that I am the Lord your God,
who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians.”
-Exodus 6:7 – expanded reading: Exodus 6:2-8
When our oldest daughter was in the NICU, so much of life became about waiting. I sat beside this tiny human waiting for things most of us never think twice about. Waiting for her to breathe on her own. Waiting for her to eat enough. Waiting for her little body to maintain its temperature. Waiting for numbers on monitors to stay where they were supposed to stay. Waiting for another milestone that would bring us one step closer to taking her home. And sometimes progress felt impossibly slow.
In Exodus, the Israelites have been waiting too. Their waiting is very different, but I wonder if some of the feelings are familiar. They have been waiting for freedom, wondering when life will change. And then God speaks. “I have heard.” “I have remembered.” “I will deliver you.” “I will redeem you.” “I will take you as my people.”
God had not forgotten them in the waiting. I think sometimes we imagine God is most present when something finally happens, when the prayer is answered, the milestone is reached, the door opens, and our girl finally came home. But looking back, I know God was present beside that NICU bed too, even when it felt like maybe God was absent. God was there in nurses who cared for our daughter, in tiny steps forward, in tears and exhaustion, and in simply making it through another day. We spend so much of life waiting for the next thing. Exodus reminds us that God does not wait at the finish line for us. God is with us here, too.
Prayer: Faithful God, when waiting feels long, remind us that you have not forgotten us. Help us trust that you are present with us here, even before we know what comes next. Amen.
Written by Pastor Sarah