When we are suffering and sad, it can make us question God. Lord, do you see my sorrows? Do you care about my sorrows? Will you ever save me from my sorrows?

Exodus 3:7-10 gives us some wonderfully encouraging answers to these questions.

GOD SEES OUR SORROWS

• A suffering people: Israel were an enslaved people suffering at the hands of cruel Egyptian tyrants.
• A seeing God:  And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt” (7a)

We can’t see God sometimes, but God sees us all the time.

God sees my sorrows. OK, but how does seeing help me?

GOD SYMPATHIZES WITH OUR SORROWS

• God hears their cries (7b) : God doesn’t just see and pass by on the other side. He stops to listen.
• God knows their sorrows (7c): He doesn’t just listen, he thinks about what he sees and hears. He ponders it, he cares about it, he processes it.

When people couldn’t care less, God couldn’t care more.

God sympathizes with my sorrows. That’s good to know. But can he do anything about it?

GOD SAVES FROM OUR SORROWS 

• God comes down to deliver from sorrow: “I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land” (8a)
• God comes down to deliver to satisfaction: “I am come down to bring them into a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (8b).

This is our God. He’s a God who comes down to save from sorrow and save to satisfaction. He did it for Israel through Moses in the Old Testament. He did it for his church through Jesus in the New Testament. He can do it for you today.

Christ comes down to a suffering world, so that we can go up to a satisfying heaven.

LIVING THE BIBLE

God sees our sorrows, sympathizes with our sorrows, and saves from our sorrows. So bring your sorrows to him and replace your questions with prayer, and your doubts with praise.

This episode of Living the Bible lines up with Expedition 6: Day 2 in  Exploring the Bible Together: A 52 Week Family Worship Plan and Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids. You can catch up with previous episodes of the Living the Bible podcast here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcast.

A lot of teen anxiety and depression is caused by the multiple pressures from multiple sources that many teens are experiencing.

For teens: Why am I feeling like this? A Teen’s Guide to Freedom from Anxiety and Depression. 

For adults: Why Is My Teenager Feeling Like This?: A Guide for Helping Teens through Anxiety and Depression

Will you help me with a social experiment?

As you know, I’ve been producing a five-minute daily podcast for a few months.

After getting feedback from some friends, I’ve decided to launch a one-minute version as well.

Yes, that means I have to talk at American teen speed as well as cutting out some of the material.

But, I’m interested in getting your feedback. Here are the questions I’m interested in: Are you more likely to listen to the one-minute version than to the five-minute version? Is the one-minute version too fast to profit from? Should I do a five-minute version and a one-minute version, or just one of them? Which one?

I’d really appreciate your comments or emails. Thanks so much. The one-minute version is below. The five-minute version is here.

We admire powerful people. We’re attracted to powerful people. We want to be with powerful people. We want to be powerful people.

Here’s the problem with that. God is attracted to powerless people. Exodus 2:23-3:6 gives us a double demo of that.

A POWERLESS PEOPLE ATTRACTS A POWERFUL GOD

• A powerless people (2:23)
• A powerful God (2:24-25)

A weak prayer is the most powerful prayer.

I get how God would see and be attracted to a powerless nation. But I’m just a powerless person. How could he see me and be attracted to me?

A POWERLESS PERSON ATTRACTS A POWERFUL GOD

• A powerless person (3:1)
• A powerful God (3:2-6)

People say knowledge is power, but God says knowing your weakness is power.

LIVING THE BIBLE

Admit all your weaknesses to attract the all-powerful God.

This episode of Living the Bible lines up with Expedition 6: Day 1 in  Exploring the Bible Together: A 52 Week Family Worship Plan and Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids. You can catch up with previous episodes of the Living the Bible podcast here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcast.

Has God ever asked you to do something that you were sure would cost you everything?

I have. It was twenty years ago now that God laid a duty upon me that I was sure would result in massive loss. He called me to pursue justice for victims of crimes committed by a powerful man who was protected by powerful people and institutions. I knew I would never succeed, I was sure I would lose everything in the process, and yet I knew God was commanding me to do this.

Sometimes obedience to God’s commands will cost us a lot. It may cost us everything.

That’s what happened in Genesis 22 when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son. And yet, although the expected cost of obedience was massive, the eventual blessing was even bigger.

OBEDIENCE WILL COST US

• Loss of money
• Loss of family
• Loss of reputation
• Loss of friends
• Loss of job
• Loss of health
• Loss of usefulness

When God’s commands are expensive, our confidence in God is is exhibited.  

What encouragement is there to obey?

OBEDIENCE WILL BLESS US

• Personal blessing (17a)
• Family blessing (17b)
• Worldwide blessing (18)

Obedience may be expensive but it’s always worth it.

LIVING THE BIBLE

When God commands us to do something that will cost us everything, trust him to bless that obedience to everyone. It happened in Abraham’s case. It happened in my case. It will happen in your case too.