STAY AFLOAT!!!

 “The world is drowning, don’t sink with it.” (Sever Andzenge)

Exodus 1:22-2:1-10 - ²² So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live.” ^1-3 A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile.

^4-6 The baby’s older sister found herself a vantage point a little way off and watched to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe; her maidens strolled on the bank. She saw the basket-boat floating in the reeds and sent her maid to get it. She opened it and saw the child—a baby crying! Her heart went out to him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

⁷ Then his sister was before her: “Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said, “Yes. Go.” The girl went and called the child’s mother.

⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter told her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me. I’ll pay you.” The woman took the child and nursed him.

¹⁰ After the child was weaned, she presented him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses (Pulled-Out), saying, “I pulled him out of the water.”

It is not news that the world we live in at the moment is becoming dangerous by the day. God is being gradually taken out of every single aspect of society. I was thinking about all the stuff going down and I’m just like, ‘Oh mehn, I really don’t wanna bring a child into this drowning world which is sinking real deep and deep in the twinkle of an eye. It’s scary raising a child in such a world. He would have to be protected from almost everything at a point. #sigh#  It’s truly scary. However, there is still hope for the coming generation if we play our cards right. Yes, there’s hope.

Let’s take a look at the Biblical account above. Three important things stand out from that story; the Nile, the basket, and the lady Miriam.

v The Nile River represents the world and its many distractions. Because of course we live in the world, we are in no way shielded from the many distractions it presents. It is a flowing river with numerous distractions. Some of these distractions include humanistic beliefs, the fashion craze, ungodly music, the crave to belong, homosexuality and many others. There are distractions grabbing at our attention by the day. And what are these distractions? In simple terms, they are things that take our eyes off the goal ahead of us. Therefore, we must beware of such distractions and rely on God’s helps and grace to keep us focused on the goal, which is to live for God’s own pleasure.

v The Basket represents the Word of God. The Word of God is what is able to keep us afloat the waters of evil. Without the Word of God we will sink deep down into the waters of the ‘Nile’ (the world) and drown. Moses’ mother made a basket of papyrus and even went ahead to coat it with pitch and tar so it would stay afloat and so also to prevent the waters of the Nile from seeping into the basket and drowning her child. A time will come when we would have to release our children into the waters of the world and the only thing we can give them to help them stay afloat is the Word of God. The Word of God will serve as a basket that will keep them from drowning with the world. The Word of God is the only weapon that we have to fight the battle against the evil one. Therefore, we as parents and parents-to-be are responsible for immersing our children in the Word of God so that even when they aren’t under our watchful eyes, we can be confident that they will not sink, just like Moses’ mother had confidence that her baby wouldn’t sink in the basket she made for him. Also, she made the basket HERSELF. This means that no one else but US as parents must teach our children the Word of God. It is our responsibility and God will hold us accountable.

v The Lady Miriam represents destiny helpers and disciplers in the lives of our children. We must back up our teachings of God’s Word with prayer, constantly asking God to raise destiny helpers and disciplers for our children wherever they are thrown to in this life. Such people serve as watchmen and encouragers to our children. God can raise them anywhere; at their schools, work places, church, wherever. God raise some for a season, and some for a lifetime, but in every place, He has placed ‘Miriams’ who will help our children walk into the destiny that the Lord God has prepared for them.

Moses’ mother saw that her child was a special child and had a destiny to fulfill and that was why she did all she could to keep him alive; which included letting him into the Nile. To current parents and us future parents, we must see our children as special and each with a destiny to fulfill. The life Moses’ mother preserved became the redeemer of his people.

To us as parents and grown people, the world is drowning, but we can’t and shouldn’t sink with it. We have the Word of God which is able to keep us afloat and alive to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.

So… there’s hope for the future, I just have to play my role well and be confident that God’ Word will be able to keep me and my child/children from drowning.

STAY AFLOAT!!! The Lord is counting on you to raise a godly generation.

 REFERENCES:

The Holy Bible (MSG & NIV)