Oppression Is Not New – Where Is Moses Now?

Rev. Erik Swanson
August 23, 2026

You can watch the sermon here.

We’ve been wrestling with the question of how we maintain our center in the midst of difficult times. One thing I’ve realized is that staying grounded only makes sense if we acknowledge that storms are part of life. Faith does not mean that if we believe strongly enough, everything will work out or that God will protect us from hardship. Storms happen. God doesn’t send them as punishment; they are simply part of being human. What matters is how we face them.

Learning From The Wilderness

The story of Moses reminds me that suffering and wilderness have always been part of the human experience. The Hebrew people endured slavery, oppression, loss, and forty years of wandering before reaching the Promised Land. Yet we often focus only on the destination and overlook what happened in the wilderness. We miss the growth, wisdom, resilience, and deeper reliance on God that can emerge during difficult times.

Steering Into The Storm

I want to be clear that I am not glorifying storms or suggesting that we seek them out. Abuse, suffering, and hardship are not things we should welcome. But when storms inevitably come, avoiding them can keep us from learning what they have to teach us. Sometimes the storms we avoid only become larger and more difficult to face.

I think of the image of a ship steering into a storm. In calm waters, we can relax and use very little of our strength or adaptability. In a storm, we have to pay attention, think quickly, adjust our course, and use muscles we didn’t know we had. We also have to rely on the people around us. When the storm passes, we may find that we are stronger, more flexible, humbler, and able to see the world differently.

God Is Not Punishing Us

Steering into the storm also requires us to examine our theology. God does not punish us with storms. When I believe that God is punishing me, I separate myself from the very Presence I need most. Instead, I can ask God for whatever I need to get through the storm: strength, wisdom, patience, mercy, courage, or simply the assurance that I am not alone.

Gaining A Deeper Relationship With God And Our Community

Storms reveal what we truly rely upon. Sometimes our own strength and experience are not enough. Technology, information, and all the resources we normally depend upon cannot provide everything we need spiritually and emotionally. Difficult times can lead us to a deeper relationship with God and with the community around us.

Storms can also force us out of our familiar patterns. Like sailors who must find new ways to manage their sails and steer their ship, we may have to rethink our assumptions, behaviors, and ways of responding.

We Cannot Heal What We Refuse To Face

This is true not only personally but collectively. Our country has repeatedly avoided confronting the storms of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. We cannot heal what we refuse to face. Steering into the storm means telling the truth about our history, taking responsibility, having difficult conversations, and being willing to change.

God Journeys With Us Through It All

The good news is that every time we face a storm, we can become better at navigating the next one. We learn new tools, discover that we can survive, and develop new strength and wisdom. And at the heart of every storm, God is present and waiting for us.

Storms will always find us. They exist within us, our relationships, our communities, and our world. I don’t want to glorify them or seek them out, but when they come, I want to take the tiller and steer into them—to find new wisdom, grace, strength, and the God who journeys with me through all of it.