Day 1: Exodus 1:1–14

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. Let us pray. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit didst instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise, and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

These are the names of the children of Israel that went into Egypt with Jacob. They went in every man with his household. Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin, Dan, and Nephthali, Gad, and Aser. And all the souls that came out of Jacob's thigh were seventy, but Joseph was in Egypt. After he was dead, and all his brethren, and all that generation. The children of Israel increased, and sprung up into multitudes, and growing exceedingly strong they filled the land. In the meantime there arose a new king over Egypt, that knew not Joseph. And he said to his people, Behold the people of the children of Israel are numerous, and stronger than we. Come, let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply, and if any war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and having overcome us, depart out of the land. Therefore he set over them masters of the works, to afflict them with burdens, and they built for Pharaoh cities of tabernacles, Phithom and Ramesses. But the more they oppressed them, the more they were multiplied and increased. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted them, and mocked them. And they made their life bitter with hard works in clay and brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were overcharged in the works of the earth.

Day one. Look at what this passage doesn't say. God doesn't speak. There's no miracle, no burning bush. Just a list of names, a new king who forgets, and a people carrying heavier burdens every year. That's where Exodus begins. Not with deliverance. With bondage. And that's an honest place for us to begin, too. Most of us don't start these 90 days feeling free. We start tired of something. A habit with a stronger grip than we'd like to admit. But look at verse 12. The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied. The pressure didn't break them. It grew them. So today, don't try to feel strong. Just show up. Do the prayer. Do the reading. Keep your disciplines. And trust that something is growing under the pressure. Tomorrow, we keep walking. That's day one. Come back tomorrow for day two. Peace be with you.