866 You Will Not Go Away Empty-handed, A Guided Christian Meditation on Exodus 3:20-22 with the Recenter With Christ app
The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.
Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.
You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.
Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:
Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.
Scripture for Meditation
Exodus 3
NIV
20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
20 So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you.
21 "I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters—thus you will plunder Egypt!"
Reflection on Scripture:
Human ethics are not complete. For hundreds of years the Israelites had been oppressed. None of those past people saw relief in this life. Similarly in the time of Jesus, many Jews were persecuted as well as early Christians. Additionally there are people who suffer around the world, some of them children. In our human ethics this can be very difficult. Yet I think this presents a problem of perspective and what life is. With this perspective many people could argue that life isnt fair. If we consider this human life to be the totality of life then any discomfort during that time is injustice indeed. I am in the military and have had very unpleasant training periods. Additionally I asked a Marine recently if he thought that Marine Corps boot camp was fair, he did not understand the framing of the question. It didnt matter if it was fair was his response. It is very physically demanding and full of suffering but the framing of this experience in his mind was not about it being fair or not because he was doing it for the end result of going where he wanted to go in the USMC.
If we consider this life as a training period for us then it changes our whole ethical framework. Marine Corps boot camp was not designed to be comfortable nor was this life. So it is not a failure if it is not comfortable. The real question is, does it move us to what we need to move toward. For example for early Christians who were murdered for their faith, their ethics would be different. For example when they are in the presence of God for all eternity I seriously doubt that they will consider their lives to have been unfair.
In this scripture we see that God will eventually reconcile His children. He will avenge us of wrongs done to us with His mighty arm. He will forgive our wrongs if we come to Him with His power of grace. Not only that he will reward us for going through these challenges. We will be blessed beyond our understanding for the hardship we go through. This compensation the people received also allowed them to create a beautiful tabernacle unto the Lord. Trust that the Lord will reward every injustice in His way, not ours. Praise God that we will be judged according to His ethics and not our own.
Meditation of Prayer:
Pray as directed by the Spirit.
Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.
Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:
I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials.
Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast
Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?
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