June 22, 2026
Monday, June 22
In the movie Shrek, an ogre is sent by the lord of the land to rescue a princess from a castle guarded by a dragon. He rescues her, and she is immensely grateful. But when he takes off his helmet, her emotion changes. She’s been locked in the tower of that castle for years, believing that it’s her destiny to be rescued by her true love. All that time, she’s been imagining what it will be like. In her mind, a handsome knight will come on a white horse, whisk her to safety, and kiss her, removing her curse. Instead, there’s this ugly, smelly monster and his obnoxious talking donkey.
In a way, we’re all Princess Fiona. We believe God will save us, and He does. But we’re disappointed because His answer to our prayer didn’t happen in the way we imagined it. For instance:
If I need physical healing, or my family is broken, or I can’t pay my bills, I think about all those miracles I read about in Scripture--Jesus healing the blind, feeding the five thousand, stilling the storm—and I wonder, “Why won’t He do that for me?”
If I’m struggling with doubts about His wisdom, His love, or even His existence, I question why He doesn’t appear to me in some visible way to erase all my doubts.
If I look at the state of our world and see the evil, awful things that are happening, the incredible toll of human suffering, I say to myself, “How can He just sit there and do nothing? Does He not care? Or is He not as strong as I’ve been led to believe?”
We’re starting today a series on the book of Exodus. This is a story that’s famous for spectacular miracles. Plagues devastate the most powerful nation on earth. A sea parts. Food appears out of nowhere, and water flows from a rock. But before any of those big things take place, there’s a series of much smaller miracles; things that no one would have noticed while they were happening, because they seem so insignificant. Yet, as I hope you’ll see (starting tomorrow), those small miracles were just as instrumental as the big ones.
Most of all, Exodus is a book about who God is. He is the God who saves. For centuries to come, whenever the people of God faced looming disaster, they remembered how He showed up for them in Egypt. They cried out to Him, longing for rescue, and He came through again…but not as they expected. Instead of a bloodthirsty warrior, He sent a Suffering Servant to take away their sins. Instead of destroying their Gentile enemies, He made a way for Jew and Gentile to become one.
He’ll come through for you, too. And however He chooses to do so, it will be wonderful.
“Lord, I do trust you. I trust you even when I don’t understand you. Oh for grace to trust you more! In your holy name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
