God’s Deliverer

When God Seems Silent

What is the Bible about? If you were with us back in 2021 when we walked through The Story, you know the answer: the Bible is about God’s redemption—His rescue—of His good creation. Genesis opens with the beauty of creation in chapters 1 and 2, then traces the tragic arc of human rebellion and corruption in chapters 3–11. But in Genesis 12, we discover God’s rescue plan: a man named Abram (later Abraham) and his descendants. The rest of Genesis follows Abraham’s family to Egypt, where God saves them from famine and blesses them.

That brings us to Exodus, the second book of the Bible and a cornerstone of Scripture. Exodus is more than a story of deliverance—it’s the story of how God comes to dwell with His people. Its images and themes echo throughout the New Testament, making it essential reading for anyone who wants to understand God’s redemptive work.

Through it all, one truth remains: God is faithful to His people, no matter what. God takes the initiative to save, to rescue, and He keeps His promises.

The Stage Is Set

Before diving into Exodus 1–2, we need to remember how Israel ended up in Egypt. Genesis 37–50 focuses on Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph was sold into slavery, ended up in Egypt, and through God’s empowerment, saved Egypt and his family during a worldwide famine. That’s why Abraham’s descendants are in Egypt rather than the Promised Land when Exodus begins.

God’s Faithfulness in Oppression (Exodus 1:1–14)

The book opens with God’s faithfulness: He multiplies Israel, just as He promised in Genesis. But Pharaoh—who saw himself as god—opposes this blessing. He imposes hard labor, forcing the Israelites to build cities for his glory rather than live for God’s.

This sets up the central conflict of Exodus: God blessing while the powers of this world oppress. Notice this crucial point: God’s faithfulness isn’t shown by immediate deliverance—it’s shown in blessing amid hardship. He doesn’t remove oppression immediately, but He sustains Israel with children and resources. God’s faithfulness isn’t only in dramatic miracles—it’s in the small, everyday ways that allow His people to live faithfully in a hostile world.

The Courage to Fear God (Exodus 1:15–22)

God’s covenant blessing continues to be children. Pharaoh (representing the gods of the world) tries to destroy that blessing—killing the boys and enslaving the girls to erase Israel’s identity.

But God’s blessing shows up in courage. Two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, fear God more than Pharaoh. They refuse to kill the boys, and God blesses them. Throughout history, God raises up courageous people to carry out His mission.

Even when Pharaoh escalates, commanding all boys be thrown into the Nile, God preserves His people. He is faithful. That doesn’t mean He immediately changes the circumstances. Like Shiphrah and Puah, we are called to be bold and courageous, faithful through hardship.

God Prepares a Deliverer (Exodus 2:1–10)

After 400 years, God gives the deliverer—but this is unknown to the Israelites. Moses’ birth doesn’t immediately change their oppression. Yet in the midst of Pharaoh’s decree, God provides a way for the deliverer to be protected and prepared.

Here’s a key truth: your circumstances are not necessarily your preparation. God was protecting Moses, while the rest of Israel had to remain faithful. Don’t give up on God because He hasn’t given you a “Moses assignment.” Stay faithful through the oppression, and you will experience His provision.

Moses: A Man Between Worlds (Exodus 2:11–25)

Moses grew up knowing his Hebrew heritage and had  a spirit of justice in his heart—but that spirit showed up wrongly when he killed an Egyptian. He didn’t earn acceptance from his people; he fled to Midian. There, his sense of justice was redirected, and he learned the humility of a shepherd. Yet he remained a man searching for identity—a foreigner in a foreign land.

More time passes as God prepares for the right moment. God doesn’t meet our time expectations, but He is still at work. Did God forget His covenant with Abraham until Israel cried out? No. The first chapters of Exodus remind us that God was faithful all along—waiting until the stage was set for a showdown with the gods of the world.

Keep your eyes on God’s blessings, because He works in all circumstances—even oppression, sickness, and hardship. We might miss His blessings if we assume He is obligated to act according to our timetable.

When God Feels Silent

In January 2021, my Uncle Tim was dying from melanoma and a brain tumor. We prayed earnestly for healing. That miracle never came. One week later, my Grandpa Steele died. No rescue. No dramatic deliverance. No Exodus moment.

So what do we do when God seems silent? When the sea doesn’t part? When Egypt is where we remain?

That following Sunday in church my Grandma Steele stood up during prayer time and said, “I thank God for heaven.”

This is similar to the answer we find in Hebrews 11:39–40: 

“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

God does not always rescue His people from hardship—but He always remains faithful through it. Israel waited 400 years. God was blessing them, but not yet delivering them. Faithfulness isn’t measured by how quickly circumstances change; it’s measured by His presence, provision, and promises—even when outwardly nothing seems different.

The Waiting Generations

God is at work even when He seems silent. We want to be the Exodus generation—the ones who see the plagues, the parted sea, the victory song. But most of us are part of the waiting generations—living faithfully, raising children, fearing God, resisting evil, trusting His promises without seeing rescue. And Scripture says faith still matters.

This week, the challenge is simple: be faithful where God has placed you, whether or not rescue comes. Fear God more than Pharaoh. Look for His blessings amid hardship. Trust that He is at work, even when you don’t see deliverance. Stay obedient, courageous, and faithful.

You may not be Moses. You may be Shiphrah or Puah. You may be an unnamed Israelite building bricks in the sun. But God sees you. He remembers His covenant. And He is at work.

A Final Word

Silence does not mean absence. Waiting does not mean forgotten. Faithfulness is never wasted in the hands of a faithful God. The same God working quietly in Exodus 1 is the God who acts powerfully in Exodus 14—and He is the same God we serve today.

As you reflect, respond in three ways: thank God for your blessings, ask for strength to remain faithful, and pray that He preserves His people. And if God is calling you to follow Jesus, don’t wait. Now is the time.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Will I Be Punished If I’m Angry at God?

Recently I saw this question asked: Will I be punished if I’m angry at God?

This is a great question, and one that many believers wrestle with quietly. All of us—whether we admit it or not—have felt anger toward God at some point. Maybe He didn’t show up when we expected Him to. Maybe He allowed a painful experience we desperately wanted Him to prevent. God gets blamed for a lot, even by people who claim not to believe in Him. There is far more anger toward God in this world than we realize.

Let me approach the question in two parts.

1. Will God punish me for being angry with Him?

When we reduce following Jesus to sin-management, we become overly focused on what God might do to us if we step out of line. I’ve been there myself. Something goes wrong and my first instinct is, “Is God punishing me for something I did?”

That kind of thinking is exactly what Job’s friends brought into his suffering—“You must have sinned, or this wouldn’t be happening.” But Scripture consistently pushes back against that view of God.

Here’s the problem with that way of thinking: When we fixate on punishment, we stop focusing on trust.

We start living as though God is a strict judge waiting to catch us messing up. And ironically, the more we see God that way, the more angry with Him we become. It creates a cycle of fear, guilt, and resentment.

But the grace of God gives us room to grow. Are we going to sin? Yes. We’ve been trained by years of habits and broken desires. But God has already promised forgiveness in Christ. That means we are free to move forward, to repent, to learn, to trust, and to walk with confidence—not dread.

People who fear punishment often ask, “What must I avoid?”

People who trust God ask, “How can I draw closer to Him?”

Our job, especially as we walk with others, is to help them see God not as Someone out to get them but as Someone who deeply loves them. It’s only when we begin to trust God’s heart that anger toward Him begins to soften—and the fear of punishment fades.

2. Is it okay to be angry with God?

I’m not sure I can say it’s “okay,” but I can say with confidence that God allows it.

Scripture itself gives us the language of lament. Psalms 6, 35, 102, and many others show people crying out to God in frustration, disappointment, confusion, even outrage. Life wasn’t going the way they thought it should, and God seemed disturbingly silent.

God allows our anger because He knows how limited our understanding is. We see only a tiny corner of the full picture—our moment of pain, our unmet desires, our unanswered questions. God sees the whole story: our past, our future, and the ripple effects of every decision through history.

So anger toward God is often the natural response of a limited creature wrestling with unlimited mystery.

But there is a condition: Our anger must be paired with a commitment to trust.


Doubt and anger can lead us either toward God or away from Him.

• A person who is angry at God and refuses to worship or trust Him is moving into dangerous territory. That anger turns into bitterness, isolation, and spiritual darkness.
• But the person who is angry and still chooses to worship—who vents their pain before God but refuses to walk away—will eventually see God’s faithfulness. That person has chosen trust over understanding.

A personal word

This question is personal for me. I’ve been angry with God because I felt alone. At times, I refused to worship. And the longer I stayed in that posture, the darker my heart became. I felt trapped in a hopeless situation with no way out.


But slowly—very slowly—my anger began to melt as I chose to worship, even when nothing made sense. 

Before I met my wife, one of the biggest struggles I had was being single. This was a constant point of anger and disappointment I had with God. It was when I began to intentionally move towards God in worship and prayer that I realized that being single in a world built for couples wasn’t a punishment. And if I trusted God, perhaps one day He might provide companionship in a way that was richer than anything I could imagine.

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t understand why some prayers go unanswered. I still have moments of anger. But I’ve committed to trusting God, and when I fix my eyes on Him, the anger fades and I begin to see goodness again.

So what about punishment?

Being miserable and alone is not a punishment for being angry at God.

But refusing to trust God can feel like punishment.

When we cling to anger without surrender, we create our own darkness.

But when we bring our anger to God with open hands and a trusting heart, we discover a life worth living—even when we don’t understand everything that happens.

God is not waiting to punish you.

He is waiting for you to trust Him.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Living in Light, Love, and Truth: Living as God’s Children

Text: 1 John 2:28–3:10

Have you noticed how much harder it’s become to feel truly connected?

In her book Adam and Eve After the Pill, Revisited, Mary Eberstadt describes how the breakdown of family life has changed our world. Children today are far less likely to grow up surrounded by siblings, cousins, aunts, or uncles. Nearly 30 percent of all households now consist of just one person, and around 40 percent of children grow up without their biological father in the home. The result, she says, is heartbreaking.

When family ties weaken, people grow isolated. They lose the sense of belonging that once came from being part of a web of relationships. There are fewer role models, fewer people to share life’s joys or griefs with, fewer opportunities to learn love, forgiveness, and commitment. And the consequences ripple outward—loneliness, anger, anxiety, and brokenness.

Eberstadt observes, “A world of fewer and weaker family ties is one in which deprived people are furious about things they do not have or no longer know.” In other words, when we lose connection to family, we lose part of what makes us whole.

That insight echoes what John teaches in 1 John 2:28–3:10. When we abide in Jesus—stay connected to Him—our lives begin to reflect His likeness. But when we drift away, our lives begin to resemble the world instead of the family of God.

The Wonder of God’s Love

John begins with amazement:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.” (1 John 3:1)

That’s not something we earned—it’s something we’ve been given. The world doesn’t understand this identity because it doesn’t know Him. But we do, and that changes everything. We are no longer defined by our past, our failures, or the labels the world puts on us. We are defined by the love of our Father.

And that love gives us hope. John says that when Christ appears, “we shall be like Him.” That future hope shapes our present life: those who belong to Jesus seek to live like Jesus.

Don’t let the world define who you are. When doubt or temptation whisper, remind yourself: I am a child of God. Then arrange your life to live like it—with hope and holiness.

Rejecting Sin and Reflecting the Father

John moves from identity to behavior:

“No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning.” (1 John 3:6)

He’s not saying we’ll never sin; he’s saying that those who remain in Christ don’t make peace with it. They don’t justify it or ignore it. They confess it, and through Jesus, they find forgiveness and freedom.

The difference isn’t perfection—it’s direction. True children of God are moving toward holiness, not away from it.

John makes this point clear: “The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.” (3:7) The family resemblance is seen in our conduct. If God’s seed—His Spirit—lives in us, then His righteousness will take root and grow.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t just change our beliefs—He changes our behavior.

The Family Trait of Love

Finally, John gives the clearest mark of identity:

“Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother or sister.” (3:10)

Love is the defining trait of God’s family. It’s how the world knows who we belong to (John 13:35). We can’t claim to be children of the God who is love and live in hatred, apathy, or division.

To live as God’s child is to reflect His love in tangible ways—especially toward His other children. Love isn’t optional; it’s essential.

Living Like Who You Are

So how do we live this out?

1. Remember who you are. When you’re tempted or discouraged, remind yourself: I am a child of God. Your confidence doesn’t come from performance but from your position in Christ.
2. Purify your life through hope. Those who hope in Jesus don’t drift—they draw closer. Let the reality of His return shape your choices today.
3. Let righteousness rule your actions. Right living isn’t legalism—it’s loyalty. Every act of obedience shows your allegiance to your Father.
4. Love your brothers and sisters well. Don’t just attend church—belong to the family. Forgive quickly, serve freely, and love deeply.

Becoming Like the Father

John moves from discernment to identity, from standing against deception to living faithfully as God’s children. We have confidence at Christ’s coming when we abide in Him, reflect His righteousness, reject sin’s power, and reveal His love.

When we remain with Jesus, we don’t just stand firm—we grow strong. We begin to look like our Father, love like our Savior, and live by the Spirit’s power. And one day, when Christ appears, we’ll stand before Him confident, radiant, and finally home in the family of God.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Our God – The Giver of All Good Things

Have you ever stopped to think about where the good things in your life come from? Those laughs you share with a friend, the delicious taste of a home cooked meal, the beauty of a sunrise over a lake—James reminds us in his letter that these aren’t random strokes of luck. They are gifts from a generous God.

In James 1:17–19 we read:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” (CSB)

This passage is short, but it provides a wonderful image of who God is: our Giving God, our Great God, and our Gracious God. Let’s reflect on each of these truths.

Our Giving God

James begins with the reminder that every good and perfect gift comes from above. Take a moment and ponder this: the blessings in your life, large and small, all flow from the hand of God. The food on your table, the people you love, the very breath in your lungs—all gifts from your Heavenly Father.

James wrote to believers who were facing hardship and persecution. It would have been easy for them to lose sight of God’s generosity and goodness in the middle of suffering. Yet James insists that God’s giving nature doesn’t depend on circumstances. Whether life feels like a mountaintop or a valley, God is still giving.

That’s a good reminder for us, too. Gratitude grounds us in God’s goodness, and trusting in His generosity frees us from the grip of worry. Take a moment this week to pause, write down five specific blessings you’ve received, and thank God for them.

Our Great God

James goes on to describe God as the Father of lights, the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars. But unlike the shifting patterns of the heavens, God does not change. “There is no variation or shadow of turning with Him.”

We live in a world where almost everything changes—jobs, health, relationships, even the seasons of life. But God’s character doesn’t waver. His promises don’t expire. His love doesn’t fade.

Think about a lighthouse standing firm on a rocky coast. Winds howl, waves crash, storms rage, but the light remains steady. That’s who God is—our steady light when everything else is uncertain.

The invitation here is to anchor ourselves in that unchanging greatness. When fear and doubt creep in, we can remind ourselves: God is faithful yesterday, today, and forever.

Our Gracious God

Finally, James points us to the greatest gift: new life in King Jesus. James says God “gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Salvation is not something we earn—it’s a gift of grace. God chose us, adopted us into His family, and gave us a new identity in Christ. Think of a child welcomed into a loving family by adoption—not because they earned it, but because they were chosen and loved. That’s what God has done for us.

And this grace reshapes how we live. James follows up with a practical word: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” In other words, let God’s grace show through in your relationships.

Living as Firstfruits

So, who is our God?

• Our Giving God—pouring out blessings in every season.

• Our Great God—unchanging, faithful, and steady.

• Our Gracious God—bringing us new life through His Son.

The call for us is simple but profound: gratitude, trust, and grace-filled living. Take time this week to reflect on God’s gifts. This discipline will anchor your hope in God’s unchanging nature, and, over time, His grace will transform your heart changing the way you treat others.

Because every good and perfect gift really does come from above.

A Reminder for Me

As I ponder these verses, I realize how easy it is for me to take God’s gifts for granted. I rush through my days, often more focused on what I lack than on what I’ve been given. But when I pause, I see God at work—in the love of Jenny, in the smile and laughs of my kids, in the steady truth of Scripture, in the quiet assurance that He hasn’t changed even when everything else has. 

My prayer is that I don’t just recognize His generosity, greatness, and grace, but that I live out of His blessings with gratitude and trust, for He is the Good Shepherd and in Him I find my refuge.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.