“Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.”
– Exodus 6:5
Exodus 6:5 is so beautiful when you think about it. Here are God’s people as slaves in Egypt, and they’re suffering, and they don’t understand why this is happening.
God will show Himself faithful to all His promises. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is faithful.
God is Faithful to All His Promises
They’ve been there a long time, and God says, “I hear their groaning, I hear their cries, and I remember my covenant.” Obviously, God is omniscient, he doesn’t forget anything. But here he is saying, “I know I have promised to bring them out of this.” What flows from this in verses six, seven and eight is just a litany of promises God says over and over and over again.
I will, I will, I will. Ultimately, I will be faithful to my promise. I share this verse because I am pretty confident there’s some people who are listening to this right now, who are in the middle of a valley, a trial, a struggle, hurt, pain, suffering, in a variety of different ways. If that’s you, I just want to remind you that the God of the universe, the creator of all, sustainer of all, he hears your cries.
He hears your groans, and he knows the promises he has made to you. He has not forgotten them, and he will, he will, he will show himself faithful to those promises. Look to him, cry out to him, cry out to him day and night, and know that your cries are not in vain. Your groans are not in vain. God hears you, God knows his promises to you, and God will prove himself faithful to you.
Exodus 6:5 reminds us that God Hears Our Cries
God, I pray that this realities would sink deeply into the hearts right now of people who are walking through challenges, trials, struggles, valleys, hurt, pain, unknown. Lord, amidst their cries, amidst their groaning, all day long in some circumstances. God, they’re crying out for help. They’re crying out for peace, they’re crying out for joy, they’re crying out for wisdom, they’re crying out for strength.
They can’t go on. God, hear their cries and answer according to your promises. God, I just pray for them right now. May they know that your ear is attentive to them. That you never turn a deaf ear to your people, and you never forget your promises. God show yourself faithful to your promises, I pray. I just think about people in church I pastor, I know are walking through all kinds of challenges right now.
Then others who are listening to this right now. God, please, please, please help them. Please show yourself strong on their behalf, I pray. Lord, when I, when anyone of us finds ourself in the middle of suffering, pain, hurt, trial, struggle, may we cry out to you and know we have an ear in heaven who hears us, and an advocate in heaven who acts according to your promises to us. We praise you as the one who hears us, and the one who helps us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
