What Can We Hold On to When We Feel Like Strangers in a Foreign Land?

What can we hold on to when we feel like strangers in a foreign land? Exodus 2 tells us about Moses living in an unfamiliar land and the Israelites groaning under forced labor. This passage reminds us that even when we feel as though we have lost our place, God hears our cries of suffering and remembers the covenant he made.

Why Moses Had to Leave His Place

Moses was raised in Egypt, but when he grew up, he saw the oppression of the Hebrews. One day, when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian. When he realized the matter had become known the next day, he fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian.

Moses sat down beside a well in Midian. When the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water for their father’s flock, shepherds drove them away. Moses stood up and came to their aid. Later, Moses began living with Zipporah, and they had a son. He named the child Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

The Suffering of the Israelites Did Not Disappear

While Moses remained in Midian, the Israelites in Egypt continued to suffer under forced labor. Years later, the king of Egypt died, but their suffering did not end. They groaned under their oppression and cried out.

The passage says that their cry for help rose up to God. It does not say that they endured silently. They cried out because they were suffering. And God heard their cry.

What God Heard and Remembered

God heard the Israelites’ groaning. He remembered the covenant he had established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Finally, the passage says that God took notice of the Israelites and was concerned about them.

This is as far as the passage takes us in answering the question. God heard their cries of suffering, remembered the covenant he had made, and took notice of them. Moses becoming a foreigner in Midian and the Israelites suffering under forced labor in Egypt are placed side by side. Yet at the end of both situations, the passage tells us that God did not turn away from their cries.

One Thing to Do Today

Instead of glossing over the difficulties you are facing, try putting them into one sentence. Ask yourself, “What is making life difficult for me right now?” Rather than simply listing people or circumstances, write down the specific pain you are actually experiencing. Then, read Exodus 2 again in Bible Reading, and pay attention to what the passage says about how God heard, remembered, and took notice.

What you need to do today is not decide the outcome of your problem in advance. It is to look honestly at the pain you are experiencing and not miss what this passage reveals about God’s actions.