When Moses returns from Midian, after 40 years of wilderness sheep watching, he and his sister and brother go through a transition. He gathers Aaron and Miriam to begin the process of leading the Israelites out of Egypt.

Protective Miriam needs to learn to come alongside Moses but not rescue him; to co-lead with her brothers rather than play mini-mother to them. Immediately they run into public contempt. When Moses demands his people’s release before Pharaoh, the Egyptians tighten the screws on their slaves, imposing impossible standards. The Hebrews scorn Moses and Aaron for going before Pharaoh: “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us” (Exodus 5:21 NKJV).

How does Miriam detach from reputation and resist the temptation to fix and people-please? How does she stand firm alongside Moses and Aaron, withstand public disfavor, and hold fast to God’s plan for the Israelites?

Miriam has seen God’s hand. She saw Him protect Moses in his tiny ark on the waters of the Nile; she saw Him direct a princess to the banks at just the right time to rescue her brother. She saw the unfolding miracle. Miriam knows that God intervenes in lives, knows that God has a purpose for His chosen ones. So when it is time to rally God’s people and route them into the desert, she is ready.

She can easily call to mind the Lord’s intervention in her own life, and thus call her people to walk by faith. Remembering God’s hand on our lives – God’s saving and calling and sending forth – gives us the courage to let go of our need to protect ourselves, our reputation, our loved ones. Only God can deliver us.

Remembering God’s hold on us enables us to let go, so God can let His people go. When we let our people go – relinquishing our need to direct and protect people and releasing them to God – then we are free to be the women He invites us to be.

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