*Deep breath*

Been checking out the Bible from the start for the first time in awhile and here's what I'm thinking about midway through Exodus..."Who does this stuff? Isn't there an EASIER way to get from point A to point B?"

God gave Abraham this crazy, bold, ridiculously awesome piece of knowledge about his descendent's future...and what followed was a bunch of craziness that most people would assume is nothing but proof that God never said it at all.

Things like...
Barren wives (Abraham's, Isaac's, Jacob's favorite...all barren...being made into a great nation is simple enough when your wife can't have kids right?)
Almost sacrificed son...I'm sure that made a lot of sense to Abraham...hey, you know that promise about being a great nation? Yeah, if you could just sacrifice your son that would be great.
Deceit...from wives, husbands, father-in-laws, brothers, government official's wives...most of the time in an effort to make things happen the way they wanted them to happen...God always turned it back for his glory.
And finally...after Abraham's descendent's had found favor in Egypt through Joseph and settled there...along comes 400-ish years of being enslaved by the Egyptians...

Now what? After the death of Abraham, the death of Isaac, and the death of Joseph the words God spoke to Abraham are still being spoken...God's still reminding, confirming, remembering his people...but they're SLAVES...in a land that's NOT the one God showed Abraham.

It looks impossible...

EXACTLY.

Guess how much more the glory of the Lord is shown in impossible circumstances? The more impossible, the more obvious it is that humans had nothing to do with it.

I can't help but smile inside when I come to the place of impossibility...the place where my hands come up in surrender and I can sacrifice the "Isaac" of the day/week/month/year...trusting that God, the AUTHOR of life, can resurrect any thing at any time. In this place is His river of delights...in this place is where perspective is corrected and every other desire is replaced with a desire to be near Him...to know Him...to know that where I am THIS day is exactly where he wants me to be.

Joshua 21:45