Our reading for today jumps forward in the narrative. Moses has obeyed God and returned to Egypt and Pharaoh, with some coercion, lets the people go.
But God doesn’t lead the people on the fastest or quickest road out of Egypt or slavery. Why?
This passage gives us a rare look into the mind of God. We discover that God knows his people were not ready to travel on the quickest road out of slavery.
The Exodus of God’s people from slavery in Egypt can be a metaphor for our spiritual growth. Christ leads us out of slavery to sin and yet, just like the Hebrew people, we can continue to struggle to let go of our slavery to sin. Growing in God isn’t often easy or quick.
This can be frustrating from our perspective, but what about God’s perspective? What if God knows our growth is a journey and that there are some battles we won’t be ready for until another day?
Some use God’s mercy and grace as warrants to continue in immaturity and sin. Scripture condemns such high-handed disobedience. We can pendulum swing to the other side of this and forget that God’s grace and mercy are for every day of our Christian walk.
God appeared to the Hebrew people as a pillar of cloud every day and a pillar of fire every night to be with them and to lead them. We never get to the place in our spiritual life that we don’t need his presence and leadership. We don’t get to the place we always have everything together and sin is 100% absent from our lives. We don’t get to the place where we can do it on our own.
We must follow God where he leads because God knows more about our preparedness to grow than we do. He knows we aren’t ready for certain fights. He also knows when we are.
Have you every asked God his perspective on your spiritual journey? Have you ever asked God in what way he would like you to grow today?
September 5, 2008 at 9:08 am |
Yes, I agree that we often want the quick route and God knows what is best. The slow lessons are always the hardest and most painful ones. It is easier said than done to allow God to slowly chip away at us until we are who He wants us to be. I’d usually choose the quick and painless route, but it doesn’t lead us to God’s plan and calling for our lives.
Anybody remember a time when God taught you something or grew your character by taking you through a long, maybe frustrating route to your destination?
I am posting more thoughts on this over at my blog… Ray Hughes Blog
September 5, 2008 at 11:14 am |
I often struggle with understanding God’s timing. It can be very frustrating when His plans do not match up with my own grand schemes. I can identify with the Israelites in the desert wanting to go back to what they knew in Egypt. Change is a funny thing sometimes, even when it’s a good change, there is something deep inside us that longs for the way things were, the predictability, the comfort of our prison bars. It is a testament to God’s power and patience that the Israelites and we, are moved from our lives of slavery and bondage, to a place of freedom and blessing. Thank you so much for taking the time to pour into our church through this campaign, reading the blog every morning has blessed me already…and we’re only on day 5!!!
sarah
September 5, 2008 at 11:27 am |
Sarah -
Great to hear that you are getting so much out of this. Thanks for the comment. I too was thinking what an odd thing it was that they wanted to return to slavery versus face the unknown. What a great picture of how we often live under fear of the unknown and risk missing out on the “promised land” that He has for us. God calls us to take risks and faith is supposed to be an adventure. Too many Christians don’t live that way and it wrongly reflects who God is!
A good resource on that subject is Mark Batterson’s book “In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day”. I would recommend it to anyone pursuing God’s calling on their life.
http://chasethelion.com/
September 8, 2008 at 8:14 pm |
I think about my journey as a Christian and sometimes long for the easier days of High School where I first started my walk with Christ. It was easy to ask God for guidance and to lead me. As I have aged (haha) I don’t hear as well as I used to. At least that is what I thought until recently. I had really started to wonder if there was a plan. I have been successful in my career, moved up the ladders, and I have a great wife and child. I started my own business and yet I still had the question of what is God’s plan for me. Is this all he wanted for me, a good family and business? I now know that God doesn’t answer the way we would like to think. He did not come to me in a dream, I did not hear a voice, and he sure didn’t make subliminal pop ups on my computer screen come alive and insert the answers into my unknowing conscience. He sent one of my employees into my office who was having problems in their relationship. I was not thinking about my journey, or if there was a plan I was just listening and offering some generic advice. If the truth had to be known, I just needed them to get back to concentrating on their job and not on their boyfriend. What came out was not something I had ever discussed in public before. I talked about my relationship with Christ and when I have problems where I turn. How sometimes just going to church can turn my week around, and when I don’t go how my problems seem to pile up faster. I don’t know why, it just works that way for me.
I think maybe I have been a little selfish with this information. I never felt comfortable talking this way in the corporate world. I thought it would be frowned upon, you would be looked at differently, or people who begin to act differently around you. Funny, God lead me to start my own business and gave me the opportunity to feel comfortable to finally help someone without the worries of society. I still have not heard the voice, seen the dream, and I am still waiting for God to go digital and start with the pop up adds. Reminder, turn pop up blocker off. For now, I will just keep my eyes open for the opportunities he presents me with and we will see where that leads.