Faith in the Midst of Fear
Scripture: Exodus 2:1-25
Have you ever found yourself in a season that just doesn’t make sense? A season where nothing is adding up, there are more questions than answers? Confusion, frustration and even fear seem to have the loudest voice? Maybe that’s where you are right now. My prayer today is that through His word, God will give us something solid to hold onto when life feels uncertain, when the path ahead is unclear, and when we’re tempted to believe that the unknown is the end of the story.
The Birth of Moses
“Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.” – Exodus 2:1-2
The child born here is central to the story that is unfolding. We are now introduced to Moses, one of the greatest leaders in biblical history. He was a man handpicked by God for a divine assignment that changed the course of an entire nation and changed history. But as many do, his story begins in hardship. Pharaoh had ordered all the Hebrew baby boys to be killed. He tried to kill them at birth, but as we learned last week, the Hebrew midwives feared God to allow themselves to be part of this murderous plot. Then Pharaoh ordered for them to be thrown into the Nile River. It was a devastating season and Oppression had reached cosmic levels. Can you imagine the anguish Hebrew parents endured watching their baby boys killed? The worries and doubts that would have filled their mind, “God, why would You allow this? Why would you allow for the women to conceive only for their children to be killed?” This just doesn’t make sense… You promised our forefather Jacob multiple times, reaffirming that his descendants would inherit the land and that nations and kings would come from him”.
Faith in the Midst of Fear
“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.” – Exodus 2:3
Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, acted in faith, placing their child in a basket among the reeds. They saw something special in Moses that went beyond the natural parental belief. Hiding the child was an act of faith, a strong belief that God had a special plan for Moses, that did not include him dying in the Nile River or at the hand of Egyptian soldiers. Hebrews 11:23 tells us, “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” Rather than giving in to fear, they chose to trust that God was probably still up to something. This trust in God led them to let go and surrender their child to God in faith.
Faith often requires letting go, even when it doesn’t make sense. Moses’ parents placed him in a basket on the Nile, trusting God despite the uncertainties that included dangers from the river, wild animals, or even Egyptians. Too often, we find ourselves seeking certainty before obeying God. However, scripture teaches trust, not certainty. Faith is confidence in what we hope for, even when what we hope for cannot be seen or comprehended. We must obey without visible assurance and like Moses’ parents, we must trust that God is greater than our fears and circumstances.
God’s Unexpected Plan
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. – Exodus 2:5-6
Moses’ parents’ faith paid off. Out of all the horrible things that could have happened to Moses, God used Pharaoh’s own daughter to save Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter, expected to follow her father’s decree, should have been a threat to Moses. Instead, moved by the baby’s cries, she chooses compassion over blind obedience, just like the midwives before her.
Through Moses’s Sister, Miriam, quick-witted and bold, God not only spared Moses’ life but made a way for Jochebed to be reunited with her child. In a stunning turn, Pharaoh’s daughter not only spares Moses but unknowingly hires his own mother to nurse him. Only God! When things don’t make sense, that’s a perfect setup for a divine move. Our minds are too small to grasp His master plan. His ways are higher, His thoughts beyond ours.
Moreover, the very household that sought to destroy Hebrew baby boys ends up raising the one who will eventually deliver Israel. God’s plans are never limited by human power, authority, or strategy. He can use anyone, even those unaware of their role, to accomplish His will. Pharaoh himself unknowingly contributes to God’s plan. The same empire that tried to erase a generation of Israelites ends up nurturing their future deliverer.
The irony is striking: an Egyptian princess, part of Pharaoh’s royal family, becomes an agent of salvation. Her actions beautifully reflect God’s own heart. She sees Moses’ helplessness, just as God later sees the suffering of the Israelites (Exodus 3:7). She hears his cries, just as God hears the cries of His oppressed people (Exodus 2:24). She is moved with compassion, just as God’s heart is stirred for the broken and afflicted. And she rescues him, foreshadowing how God will raise up a deliverer to save Israel.
This moment serves as a reminder that no matter how powerful the enemy appears, God is always in control. He sees, He hears, He cares, He acts, and He delivers. His ways are higher than ours, and He can use even the most unexpected people to fulfill His divine purpose.
Moses’ Identity and Calling
“When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying ‘I drew him out of the water.’ – Exodus 2:10
Pharaoh’s daughter doesn’t just save Moses, she gives him status as a prince of Egypt. She names him Moses, meaning “draw out.” His name was not just a reflection of his past, it was a prophecy. His name foreshadowed his future role in leading Israel out of Egypt. God had already written his calling into his identity. Names are more than identity; they carry spiritual meaning, divine purpose, and a calling.
Moses Acts in His Own Strength
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. – Exodus 2:11-12
Though raised as an Egyptian prince, Moses never lost sight of his Hebrew Identity or turned a blind eye to the injustice he saw around him. Verse 11 makes this clear, he didn’t just witness the oppression from a distance; he recognized the Hebrews as his own. And he was intently watching, deeply troubled by what he saw. Moses, moved by anger at the injustice of an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, kills the Egyptian, but his actions, though fueled by a desire for justice, were impulsive and ahead of God’s timing out of His perfect will. Acting in his own strength resulted in Moses being rejected by his own people and forced into exile when Pharaoh learned of the murder.
Despite his mistake, Moses’ heart for his people reveals God’s calling on his life. This moment reminds us that acting without God’s direction, even with the best intentions, will lead to trouble. Passion without godly direction can be dangerous. Moses’ journey shifts as he flees to Midian, entering a new season of his life.
Moses in Midian: A Season of Preparation
16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”19 They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”20 “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” – Exodus 2:16-22
Moses, once again unable to ignore injustice, defends the daughters of Reuel from shepherds and even waters their flock. In return, he is invited to stay with them and marries Reuel’s daughter, Zipporah. They have a son, Gershom, named for Moses’ sense of displacement, symbolizing his own lack of belonging in Egypt or Midian.
For those living in DC, this sense of displacement is deeply relatable. The city is a hub of transience, people come for jobs, politics, education, or advocacy, but few truly settle. Many feel like they are always on their way to the next opportunity, the next administration, or the next phase of life. Like Moses, who was never fully at home in Egypt or Midian, many in DC straddle multiple worlds. Perhaps rooted in another hometown, another country, or even another culture, never quite feeling like you fully belong. And yet, just as God was with Moses in his wandering, He is present in the restlessness of DC life. The question is not where we belong but who we belong to. Like Moses, who carried God’s presence wherever he went, stability isn’t found in location but in trusting God through all seasons.
God Sees, Hears, and Acts
“23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” – Exodus 2:23-25
In times of suffering and confusion, it’s easy to feel that God is absent or that our struggles are unnoticed. However, Exodus 2 reminds us that God is never absent in our suffering. The Israelites, weighed down by oppression, didn’t know that their cries had already reached God’s ears. While they were unaware, God was already at work shaping the man who would deliver them. Moses, likely feeling hidden, forgotten, and unworthy, had no idea that his greatest calling was still ahead of him.
The message of Exodus 2 is clear: just because we don’t see God moving doesn’t mean He isn’t working behind the scenes. Our lives are part of God’s greater story, and even when we feel forgotten or hidden, God sees us, hears us, and remembers His promises. In His perfect timing, He brings deliverance. Just as Pharaoh’s daughter was moved by the cry of a helpless baby, God is stirred by the cries of His people, not just for an individual, but for an entire nation or group.
For those of us in seasons of waiting, uncertainty, or hardship, it can feel unbearable. The silence can feel deafening, and nothing may seem to make sense. But perhaps, in those moments, we should be grateful that things don’t make sense. If everything were clear, we could figure it out on our own and we would think we don’t need God. But we do need Him. These seasons are opportunities to lean into God, asking, “What are You up to? What are the promises You’ve made for this season or the future? How can I align myself with Your plan?” Press into His Word, come together in worship, lean into community. Dwell in His presence. May you be reminded of who He is amid your circumstances. And no matter what season you’re in, whether you feel stuck, overlooked, or forgotten, take heart. The same God who raised Moses is still at work today.
The above post is a summarized version of the full sermon. Please click the link below to watch the full message: