Fear, faith and courage

We began our sermon series looking at the book of Exodus. It is a book full of adventure and provides a background which can give real depth to our understanding of the rest of the Bible. Through chapter one, Andrew spoke about how fear can be good as well as bad and we looked at how the fear of God - to love, honour, revere him and his ways more than we do the world - is good and leads to our flourishing.
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He also pointed us to biblical events which show how God can use times of hardship and suffering for good and how God can meet us in our darkest places, which is so encouraging when we find ourselves in the middle of what will become a poignant time in history. The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians but because they feared the Lord, and because his promises never fail, they flourished. Time and time again we see God use people who seem to be insignificant, in the minority or on the outside of society.
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You may feel like God is absent at the moment, but just remember, “God may be silent, but He is never absent” and his promises never fail. Pharaoh feared the Israelites but the midwives feared God and if we choose to follow the example of the midwives, there is no limit to what God can do in our lives. 🛕🌅