Thinking about the times in your life where you dreamt of what life could look like, what comes to mind? Were there times that you dreamt of a career, status, marriage, having children, moving to a certain place or another milestone life event? Maybe your hopes for what life could look like included relief from some type of pain or sadness that you carried.  

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This is likely to change over time for most of us. Our desire for the life we want looks vastly different as our relationship with God grows, perspective changes, and we understand that our plans – even the generally good things – are not always what we were created for. We begin to understand that God has a plan, a design for our lives so much greater and purer than we could have ever dreamt up before.  

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In today’s passage, the people of Israel stuck in Egypt are surely not living the life they wanted – oppressed, in slavery, and in a foreign land.  And the Lord tells them that he sees them, that he hears them, and that he is coming down to rescue them. Not only is he coming to rescue them, but he will take them to a wonderful place.  

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Now consider the second half of Isaiah 61:1 (the chapter that we are in for this series as a whole). It proclaims:  

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“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners”

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Sounds a lot like today’s passage, doesn’t it? That’s not by coincidence. In fact, Jesus spoke the same words in Luke 4.

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This passage in Exodus is actually part of a greater thread woven throughout the Bible and throughout time: a theme of God meeting us right where we are to rescue us, to restore us, and to make us whole. God, our Creator, the One who designed us and knows everything about us, knows exactly the life that our souls long for, and he wants to give it to us.  

The reality of God rescuing his people doesn’t end in some other place or time long ago. You see, God isn’t distant, far off, or confined to some time or place. He is near, he is alive, and he is at work today. We see his personal, tangible actions to rescue us on display through Jesus.  

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If you feel like you are in Egypt today – maybe your entire life seems to be in shambles, or something isn’t the way it should be – God has more for you. He has something better in store. The same God who saw the people of Israel right where they were sees you, knows you, and loves you. He has come to bind up your broken heart, to give you freedom, and to release you from darkness.  

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How will you respond?

• Begin a relationship with Jesus.

• Believe for yourself that God has a better plan and a greater purpose for your life.

• Trust God in your own “Egypt.”

• Join the journey of seeing God’s restoration work happening in Alaska.