But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile (Exodus 2:3).

Jochebed, remember her? Her name means, the “the Lord is Glory.” She was the mother of Moses, the man who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Little is known about this woman’s background, but no one can miss her deep and abiding trust in God. When Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all the Hebrew boys, Jochebed took desperate measures to protect her son. She put her son in a basket, coated with tar and pitch, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile? Surely there were crocodiles in the Nile. Was this abandonment, child abuse, child neglect?

Hardly! This was godly faith. This was desperate faith. For Jochebed, it was all or nothing. She was all in. If God did not come through for her son, there was no other option. And just when it seemed danger was looming, and discovery imminent, God’s protective Presence showed up in the form of Pharoah’s daughter. Did you see that coming? Phew! Close call? Not at all, God was at work in this story to accomplish his purposes for his people, Israel. Under God’s direction, that which spelled danger, brought life instead.

This is a reminder that in all the desperate situations we encounter in this life, nothing happens by chance. We are characters in God’s story. It is a reminder to us to fully surrender control and trust God, even when it scares us, and we are afraid. It is a call to us to go all in if we are to see and experience God’s power and God’s glory in our lives.

As we begin this new week, let us remember that God is at work to accomplish his purposes in our lives and in the lives of those we serve. So let us pray, walk and work like Jochebed, all in, and let us relinquish the outcome to God.