Written by Johanna Zabala, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Ecuador
When we observe each lineage and relate the origins, it is possible to find facts very well anticipated by our Creator and Heavenly Father in His maximum creation, we being an important part of it. Every biblical character teaches holy purposes of our God. Likewise, every being on the face of the earth is designed for every good work and for His service.
We study about Moses in the Old Testament starting in Exodus chapter 2 that mentions his birth. I find that he was a man of God of Hebrew origin, brother of Miriam and Aaron, both older than him. His birth occurred when an Egyptian pharaoh set out to kill all Hebrew children. Definitely for great holy purpose, he was hidden for several months and placed in a basket in the Nile River by his mother to be saved, found by Pharaoh's daughter, who raised him as a Pharaoh's son.
In the midst of a quiet life, Moses, seeing the insensitive work towards the Hebrew slaves, killed a brutal Egyptian watchman who mistreated one of them. Having to flee from there for many years, he reached Midian where he remained for forty years. He married Zipporah and they had a son whom they named Gershom.
Moses is called by God through a burning bush, under the mission of returning to Egypt and freeing the Hebrew people from slavery. Returning to Egypt, the Israelites began to trust him as God's messenger. His greatest challenge or difficulty was convincing Pharaoh to let the slaves go through the ten plagues. But the hard-hearted Pharaoh changed his mind as soon as Moses and the Hebrew people fled. God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Hebrews to pass through and the Egyptians to be entombed within the sea.
In the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, God delivers to Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel. After great controversies, struggles, disobedience, idolatry, weariness of serving the Lord, and also submerged under opposition in the desert, it is said that he did not enter the promised land either (Deut. 1:34-46).
Like Moses, and from my heart too, I will tell you that I am a daughter of God. Born in Venezuela, to a tall and passionate man named Juan, and a beautiful-looking woman with great character, named Marta. From them, I have six siblings, two older than me and four younger than me. I grew up in the care of my maternal grandmother. I was trained in the midst of great opportunities and at the same time with some economic limitations, an experience possibly similar to yours; however, always God provided.
When fearsome adolescence arrived, there were emotional needs, but God continued protecting me. At the age of twenty-one, God gave me my precious first daughter, whom I named Crismarie Alemar, uniting the important things in my life through Christ, Mary, Alejandro and Marta.
At the age of twenty-two, Jesus Christ called me to meet Him and to be part of Him. Being born again by water and Spirit at twenty-three years of age, as we see in John 3:1-21. My life started getting in order and I continued learning.
At the age of twenty-nine, I married my brave husband Jahan Rangel. We have both walked under the direction of the Lord. At the age of thirty-three there was another gift, our handsome second son named Cristian Abdías.
After ten years in social slavery, trials and challenges in our beloved country Venezuela, God allowed us through our daughter to come to Ecuador to continue learning. Those were times of opportunities and challenges, not so much on an economic level, but always on a spiritual level.
The Lord continues to call us to spread the gospel in this city of different cultures and where, as in every place, there is resistance to knowing the greatness of the salvation of the soul and the blessing of eternal life. It is not easy; but neither is it impossible (Luke 1:37).
Among the challenges and difficulties found here, there is the power to achieve what Galatians 6:10 tells us; that is, helping each other as brothers, despite the distrust or xenophobia (rejection of foreigners) among some weaker brothers in faith. This led us to the decision and the need to return to our country of origin, and as Moses did. Romans 8:28 teaches us today that everything works together for good.
To return to our country is to return to Egypt to continue freeing souls for Christ and encouraging the brothers and sisters to remain in the unity of faith, in the midst of tribulations, doubts, and scarcity.
Remembering the Ten Commandments given in the time of Moses and our ten-in-one, and the main one, seen in Mark 12:30-31, it propels our faith to a total dependence on God with all our being, soul, strength, and heart, and to love others as we love ourselves.
Likewise, it is necessary to start over each day in the joy of salvation and in prayer (1 Thes. 5:16-18), activating the Holy Spirit of the Father to value, at all times, the great sacrifice of Jesus, because He loved us so much.
Sister, without fear, it is time to strengthen our faith and reflect the peace that comes from Him. Let's not forget Galatians 2:20. Let’s fight together to enter and love the promise of eternal life. Are we encouraged and strengthened towards eternity and in doing the will of God? Amen.