The Power of a Living God
Exodus 9.13-15
Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
I've been reading about the plagues of Egypt during my one-year tour of the Bible. I noticed something I've never noticed before: the Lord gave Pharaoh teases of his power. The Lord didn't need plague after plague to receive Egypt's attention. With one sweep of his hand, the whole land could have been swallowed in His wrath. This brings us to an interesting observation concerning the Lord's motivations: his display of power demonstrates his sovereignty. Notice what he says to Pharaoh: "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth." You see, Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate most of the plagues the Lord sent. They used "magic" to do this. But the Lord proved he harnessed even nature itself. He brought his display of power through the natural order of his creation. Had he wished, he could have struck down Egypt with a plague from which they would never recover. But he didn't.
Why did he refrain? He explains to Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Can you think of times the Lord has performed wonders in order that he might receive glory? One need only read the gospel accounts to realize this. There is power in our living God. The old hymn proclaims, "There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb." Do we really stop to consider what those words mean? Do we really recognize the power of God? The power to heal? The power to restore broken relationships? To save those we think unsavable? Perhaps this is why we do not see more healing, restoration, and salvation—we have forgotten the power of God.
You see, the very God who brought wrath upon Pharaoh in order to demonstrate to his people his full power is the same God living in you and me! Think about it. Why do we so often live in defeat? Why do we proclaim anything impossible? The Lord who was raised from the dead, the Lord who spoke the universe ex nihilio, is the same God who can work in the lives of people TODAY.
Will you allow the power of God to be shown in your life? The world needs to see it. We've already won the war, but we live too often as a defeated people. Let us live in victory! May the Lord's power rest upon us, and may he be glorified among the earth!
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