In Exodus 1, we read about how Joseph was gone, and a new king was on the throne who never knew Joseph. This king saw that the Israelites were multiplying rapidly, and they outnumbered the Egyptians, so he wanted to deal shrewdly with them; but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied. Due to this, the king made a new order to have the midwives kill any male baby that was born to the Israelites. Thankfully the midwives feared God more than they feared the king, so they didn't obey the king's orders, but rather let the babies live.
These midwives were faced with a choice. They could either obey the king's commands out of fear of what would happen to them if he found out that they weren't heeding his orders, or they could fear God and do what they knew was right by letting the babies live, although this could've caused punishment on their behalf from the king.
As we know, they chose to fear God, "And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own]." Exodus 1:21.
They didn't know what the outcome would be, though.
This is where our choices in life become difficult. From reading God's Word, we already knew what was going to happen to the midwives, but they didn't. They chose to do what they knew was right even if it resulted in them being harmed here on earth. They could've been mistreated by the king. They could've even been killed, but they knew that fearing God was more important than anything that could've possibly happened to them.
We all face choices in life. We have to decide what road to take, and it's important to choose the road that God has for us even though we can't see a few verses down the page yet to know how the story turns out.
Recently I've been struggling with a choice I had to make. Wisdom showed me what the right path was, but my feelings and emotions didn't like that decision. I made up my mind to follow what I knew wisdom showed me, but it wasn't an easy choice. I was faced with fear of what tomorrow might or might not bring. Questions arose such as, "Now what are you going to do? Now where are you going to go? How long will it be until God brings you your promised land now?" All of these questions instilled fear in me. All of these things made me waver in my decision and wonder if I'd made the right choice. We can't waver anymore, though.
If God tells us to go, we need to go. When He says, "Take a step of faith although you can't see the staircase," we need to take that step of faith and trust that there will be a step there for us to stand on. We need to come to the place that the midwives came to and choose to fear God even when we don't know what will happen to us next.
I encourage you to not allow fear of tomorrow to control your decisions. Instead, trust that God holds your every tomorrow in His hands, and, "When God leads us out of a situation, He always takes us into something better." -Everyday Life Principle.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Just as the midwives were faced with the choice to fear You or to fear the king, we all are faced with choices in life to either follow where You're leading or to follow on the path that seems more traveled. God, You tell us in Your Word that wide is the gate and wide is the road that leads to destruction and many find it, but narrow is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and few are they that find it. God, although it's not easy to travel the road less traveled, that is the road of blessings, fulfillment, and peace. So this is my prayer: help me, Lord, to have a holy fear of You instead of having a fear of my tomorrows. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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