I'm reading Exodus right now and this morning I finished up chapter 18. Moses and the Israelites are currently trudging through the wilderness after their recent escape from Egypt when Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, pays him a visit. They go into Moses' tent, sit down and catch up. Moses tells him all about what happened with Pharaoh in Egypt and about all the hardships they experienced along the way. (All those plagues? Pretty good story material.) Then, it says,
"Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. 'Praise the Lord,' Jethro said, 'for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of of Egypt! I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.' "
This scenario looks a lot like the fellowship I experience today. A friend comes to visit, we plop on the couch, maybe cup our hands around mugs of coffee and share hardships, catch up. Like Moses, I need the encouragement of a friend during a long trial. And like Jethro, I'm reminded that God is greater than all other gods as I listen to someone else's rescue story.
Later in the chapter, Jethro gives Moses some advice and encourages him to share the work load of ministry with other capable, trust-worthy leaders (18:14).
This chapter prompted me to reflect on times I've been visited in the wilderness. A couple years ago I went through something really hard and was the saddest I think I've ever been in my life. I couldn't even bear to go to the grocery store. (Very little comes between me and my appetite, so this is a great mark of my mental health at the time.) I hated going to my classes and was completely unmotivated to complete any homework. I was fragile. As a verbal processor, I'd often attempt to talk through how I was feeling but barely make it past the first few words without crying.
When I look back on that time, I realize that circumstance was a huge part of God rescuing me. But in the midst of it, I was incredibly overwhelmed. My sweet friend Brittney was a huge support to me. She'd come over and we'd cook dinner together. She'd make me laugh. She'd help me with my homework. She'd know when to pour me a glass of wine and when to take it away. She escorted me to the grocery store. She got me out of bed, out of the house and out of my funk just by showing up. She visited me in my wilderness. She's still an incredible friend to me and I feel so grateful when I think back on how God used her in my life during that season. Ironically, she often says the same to me. Because true fellowship, as seen in Exodus 18, mutually encourages both parties.
That chapter motivates me to be a friend like Jethro. To pack up and head into the thick of someone's journey. To encourage them, listen to their hardships and remind them that we can't do it alone. And we're not suppose to. And then, to acknowledge what God has done! Because even if we don't currently feel rescued from our circumstances, he has ultimately rescued us and there is much to celebrate in that alone.
