Here Exodus records God’s call and promise to Moses
and the leaders of Israel, the call to leave Egypt and
the promise to lead Israel to a better land, in God’s own
way. The call comes out of God’s love and compassion.
God’s loving providence will always move us, whether by
inner promptings or external events, to change, to grow.
“I have decided that I will bring them out of Egypt”
(gnt). Egypt was at one time the salvation of the Hebrews.
God’s people were called to Egypt, the land where Joseph
served with authority, to be saved from famine. But now,
a new king has arisen over Egypt “who [does] not know
Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). The Hebrews have grown in number
and become a threat to Egypt; they live in oppression. It is
time to leave the situation that once had saved their lives.
So God calls them to new life, to a new land “flowing with
milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8).
Like Israel, the church and each of us are part of a
pilgrim people. God calls us to one stage of life; when
we have matured there, God calls us to the next. To go
on, we may have to leave behind what at one time was
our salvation. Would refusal to change and grow indicate
resistance to God’s call, to God’s loving care for us? God
calls us continuously to new life and liberation, both
internal and external: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Where is God calling me now? Where is God calling
you? Where does the promise of new life reside? What old
habits, ways, relationships, addictions hold us captive?
What must we do to be free of them, to move on to new life?

By Theodore Tracy from The Upper Room: 60 Days of Prayer for General Conference 2016