Behind the Scenes...

*God is at work behind the scenes. He uses people like midwives to bring about salvation. He uses oppression. He uses the river of death and changes it to the river of life for Moses. Putting Moses on the Nile would be the last thing you’d want to do; it was the place where babies were killed. His methods of deliverance are mysterious. (As a sidenote, the Hebrew word for basket is the same as the word for ark: "tevah". It’s the same one used in Genesis 6:14!)

Indeed, God does work behind the scenes, even if we feel abandoned. God was silent to His Son at the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" His momentary or seeming abandonment from His Son in His death led to life for Him and us. Life. Life eternal. Life for all who partake in Him. Even when we feel insignificant, even when the river seems full of death, even then, He can change it into life. Even then He can work His power through the insignificant for His glory.

Perhaps knowing that God works even when we are unaware can fuel a desire for the call to invisible service – serving others through life investing relationships, serving others through church and work, serving God even when no one is around…

In a blogpost, Stephen Altrogge writes of the servant heart of his grandfather Julian. Among his various acts of service are the seemingly invisible, including faithfully taking care of his wife even when she had dementia and his relationship with a blind man. In another post, Altrogge writes about a man named John Thornton, who lived in the 1700s. Though he could have lived a life of luxury, he chose to live simply and frugally. According to Altrogge, he “paid for Bibles to be printed, and then used his own company ships to send them throughout the world. He gave John Newton an annual allowance of 200 pounds (worth approx. $50,000 today) so that Newton would be free to write songs, books, and be a pastor.” So the Amazing Grace guy was supported by a man with a big heart. Have you heard of Thornton? Likely not. Amazing. Grace.

And there are more stories. Countless stories we will never hear. Let’s just remember that as God works behind the scenes, He may choose to use us in the process. May God work in us to be living stones (as Christ was) and the clay through which He can work wonders that may never be visible to our eyes...


*Note: Much of the first 2 paragraphs is likely what a Sunday School leader said verbatim (and almost verbatim) during a lesson on Exodus 1:17-2:10. Some of it is my extension.

(edit: 3/10)