Where Safety Lives

-

 Exodus 12:22–23 (ESV)

“None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.”

On the night of Passover, safety was not found in action, strength, or visibility. It was found in staying inside the house. The Israelites were commanded not only to apply the blood, but to remain under it. Obedience required restraint as much as action. Faith meant trusting that God was at work even when they could not see it, hear it, or control it.

The house became more than shelter — it became sacred space. Families gathered together, ate together, waited together. Parents acted on behalf of their children. Children were protected not by their own understanding, but by the faith and obedience of the household. Deliverance was communal. No one was saved alone.

This moment reveals something essential about how God works. Faith is deeply personal, but it is not meant to be isolated. God places protection within community — within households, shared obedience, and shared trust. The command to stay inside was not about hiding from the world, but about remaining where God had declared life would be found.

This is where the purpose of community — and church — comes into view. Like the Passover house, the community of faith is meant to be a place where trust is practiced together, where obedience is modeled, and where people are carried when they are too weak or afraid to stand alone. We are protected not because the community is perfect, but because God meets us there.

There are moments when faith requires visible allegiance, and moments when faith requires staying put. Passover teaches that sometimes the most faithful response is not doing more, but remaining together under God’s covering. In a loud, chaotic night, safety lived inside — among family, among those who shared trust, among those who waited on God together.

This passage reminds us that God does not ask us to face everything alone. He invites us into spaces of shared faith, shared obedience, and shared waiting. Safety is not found in isolation, but in remaining where God’s presence has been promised.

Prayer

God,
Thank You for being a God who places safety in community.
Help me value the spaces where faith is lived together —
in family, in church, in shared obedience and trust.

When fear tempts me to run out and take control,
teach me to remain where You have said life is found.
Help me trust that You are at work
even when all I can do is wait.

Thank You for covering us,
and for reminding us that we were never meant
to walk this journey alone.
Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When God Interrupts the Called

-
  Scripture Exodus 4:24–26 (NIV) At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the LORD let him alone. Observation This is one of the most startling moments in Moses’ story. Moses has already been called by God. He has seen the burning bush. He has heard God’s name. He has been given signs and a mission. He is finally on his way to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and lead God’s people out of slavery. And then — suddenly — God interrupts him. The text says the LORD met Moses and “sought to kill him.” No explanation is given in the moment, but the resolution comes quickly: Moses’ son had not been circumcised, the covenant sign God had established with Abraham. Zipporah performs the circumcision, and the danger passes. The implication is clear. Moses was called — but not fully aligned. Whatever the ...
Read more

Desert Formation

-
  Scripture Exodus 3:1–2 (NIV) Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Observation In Exodus 2, Moses believed he was doing the right thing. He saw an Egyptian slave master beating a Hebrew and intervened — violently. Moses acted out of a sense of justice. Stephen later tells us that Moses thought his people would recognize that God was using him to rescue them (Acts 7:25). Moses wasn’t indifferent to suffering; he wanted to help. But his attempt at justice cost him everything. Instead of becoming a deliverer, Moses became a fugitive. He fled Egypt and ended up in Midian, where he took on a job that Egyptians despised most: a shepherd . Earlier in Genesis, we learn that shepherds were considered the lowest of professions in Egyptian culture (Genesis 46:34). Moses w...
Read more

“I Am the LORD”: Faith in the Middle of Discouragement

-
  Exodus 6:9–12 In Exodus 6, it’s easy to assume that God is only proving Himself to Pharaoh. After all, Pharaoh is the loudest opponent and the most obvious obstacle. But when we slow down and read carefully, we see something deeper unfolding. God isn’t just revealing His power to Pharaoh. He is revealing Himself to Israel . And even to Moses . After Moses delivers God’s promise of freedom, Scripture tells us: “But they did not listen to Moses, because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” (Exodus 6:9) That verse hits close to home. The Israelites didn’t refuse to listen because they were rebellious or disobedient. They didn’t listen because they were discouraged . Years of suffering had worn them down. Hope felt dangerous. Freedom sounded unrealistic. Their bondage was so heavy that even God’s promises couldn’t break through the fog of despair. And Moses? The man who had already seen miracles. The man who had spoken with God face to face. Even he becomes discour...
Read more