This year has not been what we expected. I think that after 2020 we all hoped for a little relief. We hoped that 2021 would provide prosperity, freedom, and rest.
We hoped for a year of Sabbath, but that isn’t what we got. Much like the Israelites escaping Egyptian captivity we weren’t expecting the desert. We weren’t expecting the realities of life to stand in the way of our promised land.
Promised Land
As we stand on the cusp of 2022, we could be on the brink of our Promised Land. But like the Israelites if we don’t get our hearts right it’s also possible that we could spend the next forty years wandering the wilderness.
Ask yourself
- So, what are you moaning and grumbling about?
- Who are you taking your complaints to?
- Are you sharing your complaints with everyone you can, even if all that achieves is placing that person in agreement with you?
- Are you taking them to someone who can help fix the problem?
- Are you actively contributing to the solution?
- Have you taken your complaints to God?
- Have you prayed about it?
- Have you asked others to pray with and for you?
The Israelite’s have given us an example of what to do, by showing us what we should avoid doing.
The Israelite’s have given us an example of what to do, by showing us what we should avoid doing.
Desire
A desire for meat, or a change in diet isn’t a bad thing, just like a desire for a change in your life or country isn’t a bad thing. But the way we express that desire can be less than ideal.
I wonder, if the Israelite community had come to Moses and Aaron and said that they were struggling with the transition from Egypt to the wilderness, that they were hungry and missed some of the comforts of Egypt, that they were perhaps homesick for the only life they had ever known, or that they were struggling to understand the expectations on their lives now that they weren’t slaves, would things have gone the same way?
What if they had asked Moses to go to God for them and pray for Him to help them adjust?
What if they had asked for food, rather than complaining about what they had lost?
Rather than blaming Moses for their hardships, hardships that Moses himself was living through, what if they had come to him and said, ‘we’re struggling, what does God say we should do next?’
Perhaps if they had their story would have been different.
Valid concerns
I don’t think the Israelites were being dramatic about their struggles. I think they really did lack food, water, and some of the comforts they had experienced in Egypt. I believe a lot of their complaints were valid.
From reading Exodus we see that the wilderness was a place of long-term transition.
The Israelites were constantly lifting their tents, wandering from place to place, they were having to re-learn who they were. It was completely different to Egypt, where each day they knew what to expect, where they knew who and what they were.
Being in the wilderness meant they needed to learn new skills. It meant things that may have been of value before were now redundant. Perhaps this new season carries some of those same implications for you?
A change in identity
It is fair to say that after they crossed the Red Sea the identity of the Israelites changed completely, and in the desert they were yet to discover who they were, they were yet to find their purpose.
The Israelites feared an uncertain future, much like we are struggling with an uncertain future.
As we discover who we are in this season, I pray that we don’t focus so much on what we’ve lost that we forget that we have a promise ahead of us.
More than that, when we miss the things of the former season, or feel the lack in this one, I hope that we can talk to God and ask Him ‘What next?’
To read more about the Journey of the Israelites after they cross the Red Sea, start reading from HERE at Exodus 15:22 .