Exodus 2:23-25

Exodus 2

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

This passage has been a lifeline these last months.  I love the cadence of the verses.  The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant.  God saw the people of Israel and God knew.  

In terms of the literal meaning of each act (heard, remembered, saw, knew), God does all these things all the time:  He hears all things.  He sees all things.  He never forgets anything or misplaces anything.  He knows all things.  But in this passage, God is not merely acknowledging he has an awareness of what is has happened to the people of Israel, but declaring that he cares for his people.  He responds to his people.  He is committed to his people.  He loves his people.  And he will act on behalf of his people.  God is not merely great (his knowledge, his awareness, his recall of facts), but God is also good: He cares for his children and responses to their groaning and cries.  

So, like many who have waited before in years past, and so many who wait now for deliverance and justice, we cry out, we limp along, and we wait for the Lord.  He knows.