If you’ve ever attended a lecture or webinar, or heard a sermon preached, you’ve heard repetition. It’s how you drive home certain points. Maybe the orator is crafty, and you don’t even know you’ve heard the message before. It is powerful to repeat a message. We often need to hear things multiple times and multiple ways before we actually understand or take action.
Today, Moses is recalling stories from their journey. He starts with the rescue in Egypt. It is important to remember what has happened to us, too, because there are life lessons all along the way that can help us navigate other situations. Moses wanted to keep the stories alive not only to encourage the people who had been there personally, but more so for those that came after that hadn’t seen for themselves. These stories point to the greatness of God.
It’s one thing to live to tell a story, it’s quite another to hear it second hand. How well we tell a story will make or break our story. Find ways to bring people into the story that may not have been there. I’m not encouraging embellishments, and we do need to be clear and concise. We also need to realize our stories are worth telling. You never know how God is going to use you or your stories to further the kingdom.
I was recently interviewed for a podcast, and we talked about my painful first marriage. The premise of Michelle’s show is how we make lemonade out of lemons. She likes to focus on people’s stories of success so others can learn and grow from them. It is quite an honor for me to take a story I would much rather forget to help someone else have hope and maybe take action to be safe and free from bondage.
Being a good storyteller in life is a quality not everyone has. But for the people in Moses’ day, especially, it was because of the tradition of storytelling that we have the Bible and other ancient literature. Stories need to be kept alive so that future generations can benefit. Never question the importance of your story. Are you sharing it with others or keeping it to yourself?
Moses said, “You must love the Lord your God and always obey his requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands.” Moses was not being a “broken record.” He was driving the message home. The people needed to hear this. Moses feared they would be weak when they got to their destination. He knew them. He knew how hard to manage they were, how stubborn, how fickle. I’m sure he feared they would never truly understand.
For us, we, like their children, did not see the mighty acts in the wilderness. We can only imagine when we read and reread accounts of the exodus from Egypt, the provision for the wanderers, and the mighty acts of God to protect them. Even so, we have a picture of God’s love for his people. As Christ followers, we have another, even greater, example of God’s love for us. He sent his Son, Jesus. We can live in freedom, experience grace, and be confident in our future home when we trust in Jesus. That’s a story I want to read and tell over and over again.
God’s story is still be written today including us as characters. It’s important we don’t forget what has come before. All story lines point to Jesus, to his final victory over sin and death. Because we are part of God’s story, he has given us a role to play. How big or how small, that’s between you and God. How are you doing with your lines?
Let’s pray … Lord, thank you that you are including me in your story. May I never forget all that you have done for me and continue to do. May I be a good storyteller and encourage others to write their stories of how you find and redeem us. Fill me with your spirit and use me to make a difference in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
