Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. MT 11:28
EXODUS 3:13-20
My Soul's Beloved,
To the extent that we are capable of knowing and understanding You, to that extent alone You reveal who You are to us. Little by little, day by day, according to our willingness to be open, to surrender, to submit, and to yield to Your holy will, we will come to know You better every day.
God heard all that Moses had to say patiently. He listened to every excuse he made as to why he was not the one to lead his fellow Israelites from exile to freedom. He asked God to choose another. But You, O Lord, do not choose as we do. You choose who You will and qualify and equip them to do all You ask of them. You often choose the least, the little ones, those whom the world rejects to carry out Your commands so all will know that it is You, O Lord, who perform Your mighty works through Your most humble instruments.
Beginning with Abraham and now with Moses, God has been revealing Himself to the people He chose from all the nations of the world, for they were the least of all. It is through them that God, the Creator of the heavens and the universe, the earth and all it holds, would go a step further and make Himself, the invisible God, visible and tangible to us through You, His most beloved Son, for You are the perfect image of God, Father and Creator of all.
God revealed His Name to Moses as - I AM WHO I AM, without beginning and without end. Moses, the people of God in exile, and all the miraculous events that follow as God with mighty hand liberates His people and leads them from slavery to freedom, are a typology of all that God will accomplish for the whole of the human race through You as the Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior of the world.
Like Moses, each of us who belongs to You is called to mission. It does not matter whether or not we believe ourselves capable of accomplishing it. You who have called us by name will equip us and provide all we need to carry out Your command. We are called to image You in our lives. We are called from exile and slavery to sin to freedom as children of God. We have been empowered by You and by Your Name, and in this Name which is above every other, every knee will bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue will confess that You, Jesus Christ, is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Keep us little, keep us obedient, keep us humble, and keep us open to Your call and grant us all the grace we need to say always, 'Yes, Lord, here I am, I come to do Your will.'
Moses, hearing the voice of God coming from the middle of the bush, said to him, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This,’ he added, ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’ And God also said to Moses, ‘You are to say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.
‘Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he has said to me: I have visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to you. And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are oppressed, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey flow.” They will listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God.” For myself, knowing that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I shall show my power and strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work there. After this he will let you go.’
PSALM 104(105):1,5,8-9,24-27
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
He gave his people increase;
he made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
Then he sent Moses his servant
and Aaron the man he had chosen.
Through them he showed his marvels
and his wonders in the country of Ham.
‘Go and gather the elders of Israel together and tell them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he has said to me: I have visited you and seen all that the Egyptians are doing to you. And so I have resolved to bring you up out of Egypt where you are oppressed, into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land where milk and honey flow.” They will listen to your words, and with the elders of Israel you are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has come to meet us. Give us leave, then, to make a three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God.” For myself, knowing that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced by a mighty hand, I shall show my power and strike Egypt with all the wonders I am going to work there. After this he will let you go.’
PSALM 104(105):1,5,8-9,24-27
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
He gave his people increase;
he made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
Then he sent Moses his servant
and Aaron the man he had chosen.
Through them he showed his marvels
and his wonders in the country of Ham.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
MATTHEW 11:28-30
My Soul's Beloved,
MATTHEW 11:28-30
My Soul's Beloved,
Here I am in answer to Your invitation. I lean on You. I rest my weary head on Your breast. Take my hands in Your own and strengthen, heal, and comfort me. Grant salvation to all I pray for, so someday we can all stand in Your Presence and praise You, and the Father and the Holy Spirit together with all the angels and saints in glory.
With You beside me, Beloved, I can do all things. Keep me yoked to You till I draw my final breath on this earth, then take me by the hand and lead me to the Father, and there I will praise God in Your holy Presence eternally.
Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
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