God’s mighty hand

It was Remembrance Sunday and whilst we are back to online services it was good to be able to share in a 2 minutes silence together, as a scattered church.
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We continued our sermon series in Exodus and as we looked at the devastating plagues that God brought upon Egypt, we were able to see a picture of God's power but also His patience, love and mercy.
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The plagues escalate until the magicians can no longer compete and some of the Egyptians also start to fear God, but Pharoah's heart remains hard. This terrifying demonstration of God's judgement shows how we are not the masters of our own destiny, God is in control and we see an opportunity for humility. It's right to question why bad things happen but we should let our questions draw us toward God, putting them to God rather than letting them push us away from God, choosing devotion not defiance.
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In the penultimate plague, the plague of darkness, we see a parallel to Jesus' death on the cross and his time in the tomb. Egypt is plunged into darkness for 3 days before light breaks through! This next stage of lockdown might feel like being plunged into darkness, but there is a light that darkness has not overcome. Will we harden our hearts or will we turn our ear to God, will we assume that God has forgotten all about us or will we bow down in humble submission to our Creator, a God who shows patience in judgement, mercy in love and hope in the darkest of situations. 🖐❤️