Exodus 2:1-10
“The baby’s mother kept him safe by making a floating basket for him. She put her baby in the basket and then hid it in the water and plants at the edge of the Nile River.”
“The baby’s big sister, Miriam hid near the shore and watched over the basket.”
“Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to take a bath. She saw the basket among the water and the plants and asked her servant to go get it.’”
“This must be one of the Hebrews’ children. He’s awfully cute! Wouldn’t it be fun to keep him?
“Miriam bravely stepped out of her hiding place. I could probably find someone to help take care of the baby for you until he’s a little older.”
“Miriam was excited to tell her mother the news. The baby’s mother took good care of him.”
The mother comes to a difficult decision and chooses to sacrifice her motherly role with the hope that her child’s life may be spared. The big sister keeps watch over a floating basket with the precious cargo of her brother. The king’s daughter chooses that time to bathe and just happens to notice that strange vessel in her bath water. A servant delivers the basket to the princess who is so taken with the Hebrew baby boy that she wants to adopt him. Big sister Miriam approaches Pharaoh’s daughter and suggests she could find someone to care for the child. That someone is the child’s own mother, who nurses and cares for him until he may take his rightful place as a Prince of Egypt. He may appear to be Egyptian royalty, but he knows who his true family is.
Just coincidences! No, I don’t think so! A divine plan was at work. Though our situations may not be quite as dramatic, I believe that there is a divine plan at work in our own lives. In time we can look back at “the roads not taken” and we can see that there were interventions that served us well. Today, take some time to see how God has been at work in your life and pay special attention to the surprises.
Prayer
O God, You do work in mysterious ways. Thank You for revealing to us how You have been at work in our lives assuring us that many of the encounters and experiences are not just coincidental. They serve Your purpose and they help us to become the people You would have us to be. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.