Daily Bread

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’

But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” ’ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

This Bible passage flies in the face of those who teach that God's will is immutable. Did we really just read that God changed his/her mind — but here it is, in black and white — God can be reasoned with!

Christians often talk about God's perfect will, and I do subscribe to the idea that God does have a will, after all, Jesus taught us to pray, "Your will be done," however, does God's will extend down to my day-to-day decisions and what cereal choice I should make for breakfast?

A good way of thinking about God's will is that there is a direction, and that direction is towards what is loving, right, and true. It is a direction towards healing and restoration for us and for all creation, however, within that the method is up for grabs, and our lives are to be in lived out, not following a strict, predetermined path, but in relationship with a God who loves us.

Think of your relationship with God as a partnership, a journey, or an adventure. God delights in you exploring this life — seeing, tasting, thinking, and feeling. Sometimes we pray and ask God for direction, and I think that when we pray God may well give us suggestions, but it is a team effort. I remember once asking God if I should marry Helen and God replied, "Would you like to marry Helen?" to which my reply was, "Yes, I'd very much like to!" Of course, my marrying Helen was also subject to Helen and her own relationship with God!

This 'changing of the mind' we read about in the story of the Exodus, is less about God being fickle and unstable, but more about God wanting to work with humanity for the greater purpose of blessing the world through the nation of Israel.

You have a relationship with God and you can choose to work with God or against God. You can choose to have dialogue with God or ignore God. Sometimes we are even afraid to approach God because we are worried about what God might say, however, today, rest in the knowledge that God has got your back, wants the best for you, and will work with you to enable you to be the very best version of yourself.

Holy God
Thank you that you love me
and that I can be in relationship with you.
Thank you that you are my father, mother, and carer
and that you want the very best for me.
May I always continue on the path towards
what is just, right, and true,
And may my future be full of beautiful adventures
Now and forever.