Too Obscure to Matter

"Here you go!" The midwife said, "You're doing great...just one more moment... Ah ha! Congratulations! You have a healthy baby boy!"

A pall settled over the room. The new mother began to sob quietly in exhaustion and fear. Her sisters gathered around her, tears streaming down their faces. The new grandmother left her post at the foot of the bed and put her arms around her daughter. "I'm so very sorry, my dear..."

The midwife looked up, a sweet smile on her face. "It's just so amazing that you were able to have this baby before I even arrived!" She finished her task of cleaning and swaddling the baby. "We Hebrew women are quite a sturdy lot, aren't we? I can't tell you how many of my clients have delivered their beautiful baby boys without any help from me at all!"

The women turned to each other, eyes wide.

Handing the newborn to his mother, the midwife turned back to her bag and swiftly packed her things. Turning to leave, she faced the women in the room one more time. 

"Truly," she said softly, "God has blessed me with laughter and all who get the news will laugh with me!" 

The women looked up and smiled at the midwife's use of their matriarch Sarah's words.(Genesis 21:6)

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This story caught my eye as I was reading through Exodus this week. The midwives to the Hebrew people had been called before the king of Egypt. He was a fearful man, looking around at the numbers of the Hebrew people and determining that they were not to be trusted. 

The midwives were instructed to kill every baby boy they delivered. 

But the midwives, named in the bible as Shiphrah and Puah, were what we would call 'God-fearing' women. They knew wrong when they heard it. 

If you read through these verses, Exodus 1:1-23, I hope you notice what I did. 

The king, the most powerful man in the world at that time is never given a name. He's just one more... ho hum... king. 

In contrast, the midwives, nobodies in the political and economic platform, are named individually. Those women are the very same women who were delivering babies when Aaron and Moses were born. 

The point? In God's eyes, there are no obscure people. 

In God's plans, there are no 'unimportant' Christians. 

Your encouragement today is this:

No matter your task today, no matter your situation, your struggles or your status - your respect for God, your choice to believe and trust Jesus, your decisions to reflect God's truth and love put you in the perfect position to be used by God. 

Blessings,
Rosalyn