“God has taken care of every detail and He is waiting for us to trust Him.”
I’m the youngest of four kids. I grew up seeing all of my siblings gain freedom as they got older. They learned to drive, started working, and went off to college. My 16th birthday was by far my most anticipated birthday ever. I still remember the day I got to drive off in our family minivan without any adults in the passenger seat. It was awesome… until I had to pay for gas. Soon came car repairs and oil changes. I dreamed of growing up and having all the freedom I could ever want. Sadly, it’s not as exciting and fun as it seemed.
The Israelites had similar dreams. They were enslaved by the Egyptians and to put it simply, they were not treated well. Exodus 1:11-14 says “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.” The Israelites cried out to God, asking for freedom from the Egyptians. God saw His people, He heard their cries, and He cared. He sent Moses, Aaron, and 10 plagues to free His people from the Egyptians. Then when Pharaoh decided that he actually didn’t want to let the Israelites go, God helped them escape. He parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could get away from the Egyptians. Finally, the Israelites were freed from their bondage. All the Israelites had wanted was to be freed, until they received freedom, and then all they wanted was to go back to the very people who enslaved them.
Why would they ever want to go back to Egypt? God had the Promised Land ready for them, He was taking care of every detail, and yet the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt because it was familiar. They knew what to expect. It was too hard trusting and waiting on God even after everything that He had already done for them.
In a very similar way, God has freed us. Not from Egypt, but from sin. He hears our cries and sees us in our suffering, and He has brought freedom to us through Jesus. Yet after everything Jesus has done for us, we still turn to sin, because it’s familiar and it seems easier than trusting God. But just like with the Israelites, God has taken care of every detail and He is waiting for us to trust Him.
I thought being an adult seemed exciting and easy because of the freedom it provided, but sometimes it’s complicated and hard. It was good for the Israelites to be freed from Egypt, but it was confusing and seemed hopeless. It’s good for us to be freed from sin, but it’s sometimes hard to deny sin and to choose God. However, choosing God is always the right choice. He is good, kind, and caring. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He is the only one who can bring us true freedom. Romans 8:1-2 says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit, who gives life, has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
I pray that you will recognize the freedom that you have in Christ and not turn back to the comforts of your past. True peace and comfort is found in Christ.
