Put It In The Basket
Exodus 3:2
“But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”
Since Genesis, God has been speaking about the importance of being able to put the thing you hold dear into His hands. We see it with Abraham, and now we see it with Moses’ mother. As a mother, this hit a little deeper. I cannot imagine putting my 3+ month old baby in a basket to float in the river.
There is also so much context we don’t have. How did this end up being the resolution for her? Did God tell her to do this? Was she worried? Where did the river lead to?
We don’t have the answers, but we know one thing for sure: she had trust. And what came about as a result? Verse 9 says, “Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.” Not only was she reunited with her son, but she was paid to take care of what already belonged to her. Her willingness ultimately played a part in the freedom of generations beyond her years.
Trust is scary and uncomfortable most of the time. But we see how God responds to surrender and yieldedness—especially when the word of instruction seems to go the opposite way of what logically makes sense. Newsflash: our God doesn’t work based on logic. We are called to walk by faith and not by sight, logic, or human understanding. This level of trust will never manifest if God isn’t truly the ultimate reward of our lives.
Surrender is letting go of control and accepting the position God holds in our lives—sovereign above all things in heaven and on the earth. He can handle it. Trust is believing His way is better, even when I think I have a better way things could be worked out. And indeed, I can testify that in every obstacle, every call to obedience, His way has always been better.
Moses’ mother experienced and gained more than she would have had if she held on to him because she refused to trust God.
God, may I be willing to trust You with the things most vulnerable to me. For the One who gives is able to take care of what is His. May I never hold tighter to the blessing than to the One who made it happen. Your way is and always will be better. Thank You, Jesus, for this reminder.
