Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Shortcuts to Futility

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And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the LORD.’ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.

“Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.'" (Exodus 6:2–6)

So many times you and I miss the opportunity to watch the Lord work in mighty and miraculous ways. Why? Because instead of "standing still" and watching Him pull off our deliverance, we seek out the carnal alternative. We look for the back-door escape, a fleshly shortcut.

Notice how God handled His man, Moses. Without rebuke, the Lord gave Moses two pieces of counsel. One related to His person; the other related to His work. He told Moses who He was, and then He told him what He was going to do. And the order in the Lord's response is as important as the facts themselves.

Right off the top, He repeated the message from the burning bush, saying, "I am" five different times in Exodus chapter 6.

"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 2)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 6)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 7)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 8)
"I am the LORD . . . " (v. 29)

Time after time He punctuated His message to Moses by saying, "Look, Moses, your eyes are in the wrong place (again). Get your eyes back on Me (again). Remember who I am (again)."

Who is the Lord? Ask the prophet Isaiah. Troubled and sick at heart over the moral condition of his nation, Isaiah glanced toward the sky one day and "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1 NKJV). That's all he needed to see. He fixed his eyes on the Lord, and, suddenly, his whole perspective changed.

If you have been a believer for any length of time, you will have heard these words over and over. But that's all right; here they are again. Until your eyes are fixed on the Lord, you will not be able to endure those days that go from bad to worse.