Looking
this way and that and seeing no one, (Moses) killed the Egyptian and hid him in
the sand.
Exodus
2:12
You’ve had it up to here and now you have a chance
to even the score. So with one impulsive act, you seize the moment and cross a
line. You can hardly believe what you just did, but hopefully, no one saw.
Maybe it will all go away. No arrest warrants. No angry spouse. No financial
ruin. But it doesn’t go away and from that moment on, defines everything you
do, every breath you breathe.
So it was with Moses. One impulsive act that
seemed justified in the moment became the defining factor of his life. That’s
how sin works. It slips in clothed in justifications, then shakes off the
camouflage and sets out to destroy you.
Moses did what we usually do when we realize we’re
in a different category than the one we wanted. He ran. Instead of “prince” he
became “fugitive.” Instead of “adopted royalty” he was a nobody. Maybe you’ve
been there. Instead of future valedictorian, you became a pot head. Instead of
beloved son or daughter, you became the black sheep. One bad choice is all it
takes to catapult us into a category we never wanted: ex-con, sex offender, alcoholic, cheater… Satan whispers that
we’re stuck there. “That’s who you are now,” he hisses. “Accept it and live
like it.”
But Jesus came to be a category-buster. Moses’ story reminds us that no
one has to be stuck in a past mistake. God isn’t finished with our story if
we’re willing to do it His way.
Challenge:
Do you feel stuck in a category you never wanted? Ask Jesus to be your
category buster and do it His way.
Prayer:
Father, you know the mistakes of my past that have dogged me for years.
I don’t want to be stuck there. That’s not who I have to be, so I’m willing to
do whatever you say to bust out of it. Lead on and I’ll follow. In Jesus’ name,
amen.
.