February 10 - Exodus 31:1-7

The Lord spoke to Moses:

I have called by name Bezalel ... and I have filled him

with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge

in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs,

to work in gold, silver, and bronze,

in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood ...

and I have given skill to all the skillful, so that

they may make all that I have commanded you:

Exodus 31:1-7

 

If you’re following along with the Bible in a Year, it may seem like I’m jumping ahead. Today’s readings are supposed to be about the specifications for constructing arks and altars, tabernacles and lampstands, chapters 25-27.

 

In a sense, I am jumping ahead.

 

But in another sense, I want to point out an important spiritual principle ...

 

With intricate detail, God laid out his plans from the wings on the cherubim on the ark and to rings on the curtains in the tabernacle. In coming chapters, God describes what’s to be inscribed on every little stone in every little fold of the priestly vestments.

 

Now, if I were Moses on top of that mountain, I would have been constantly thinking: "How? ... how? ... how? ... how am I ever going to do that?"

 

Have you ever been there? Have you ever quit listening because you’re so bogged down in details? God has missions, purposes, and adventures for you and me, but before he can ever lay out his plans, we’ve already quit listening. He can’t paint the picture of the finish line, because we’re concerned with immediate concerns — like what am I going to wear and what am I going to look like when I race.

 

Seven chapters after God starts painting this picture, he gives Moses the answer: "I have already planned, created, equipped, and placed beside you master craftsmen."

 

Hear this: If God is calling you, take the time to listen to his magnificent plan. And trust that if He is calling, he is already creating, equipping, paving the road, and placing beside you fellow-workers for the journey.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s putting on his Indiana Jones hat

because I want to hear about a

God-sized adventure today