Today's Trouble Gone Tomorrow

Year 6-Day 298: Today, I am grateful today's trouble will not be seen again.

Isn't that a comforting thought. Jesus tried to teach us to not worry about yesterday or tomorrow. 

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." -Matthew 6:33-34

Today has enough trouble, but He is with us through each and every trial. In our brokenness, He is here. He never leaves us alone. He may be silent, but he is not absent. We need to be still... to be calm.  Tomorrow will bring it's own trouble. We can take one day at a time, with Jesus by our side. 

I love Exodus. Moses is one of my favorites. Flawed but faithful. His story teaches me something new every time I peek into the pages of Exodus.

"But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” -Exodus 14:13-14

The Egyptians chasing them were Pharaoh's army. They wanted to capture them and return them to bondage. The Red Sea parted to let the Israelites pass and the same sea swallowed the army behind them. I cannot even imagine such a sight beyond Hollywood's abilities to recreate it. 

Archaeology has made recent discoveries in Egypt of the bones of many young people buried together that have them wondering what happened? 

"Initial analysis concluded that the remains were of youths aged 7-25, the bulk of whom are thought to have been under 15 when they died. Additionally, wrote Mary Shepperson, the majority of 15- to 25-year-olds had suffered some kind of traumatic injury, and 16 percent of the under-15-year-olds were found to have spinal fractures and other injuries usually associated with heavy workloads." -The Times of Israel, June 9, 2017

They are not sure who the bones belong to, other than knowing they were young, poor and worked to death. I had to think about the young, Jewish workforce living and dying because of the forced labor in horrible circumstances in the days of Moses. The weight of the work crushed their young bodies and did damage from the unspeakable cruelty and hunger. Moses offer to lead them out was appealing. The plagues made them believers that God was with them. But when chased by the Pharaoh's army, their attitude about leaving changed. We humans can be so fickle and ruled by emotion. 

In Exodus 14 the people are crying out in fear to Moses as the Egyptian Army is closing in behind them in their great exodus from Egypt and slavery"

"and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?" Exodus 14:11

"The Lord himself will fight for you. Stay calm... be still." What a wonderful reminder that we are not alone or without protection. The graves in Egypt were yesterday's news. That trouble was history. 

Sure, each new day may bring struggles. But, the struggle bus is a smoother ride if we let Jesus take the wheel. 

Today, I am grateful today's trouble will not be seen again.