A couple of weeks ago, one of my daily devotionals led me to the passage below from the Old Testament when God led the Israelites out of bondage to Pharoah, and out of Egypt. For some reason I thought about this a lot since. Today, we may not be in bondage to a ruler, but we sometimes have hard struggles, and some people are in bondage to certain addictions. The Lord revealed some things to me about this passage and I wanted to encourage you to reflect on your own situations as you enter into the new year. And take hope in the God who cares for you.
Exodus 13:17-18, 20-22 NIV
17 "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."
18 "So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle."
Reflection: Just going to be honest and real here. I don't know about you, but many times I get impatient waiting for God to answer my prayers. Some things in our society work quickly like fast food, 5G, and now AI, we want things and answers immediately. The same goes for our prayer life: we want God to answer now--like, today! However, I believe that just as God did not lead the Israelites on the shorter route to spare them from possible war, He sometimes leads us on the longer route to spare us from something only He knows about. We also develop our perseverance "muscle" when we have to deal with a situation for a longer time. Better yet, we see God at work in our own lives or those around us through our circumstances over time that we would have missed out on seeing if God were to answer our prayers immediately. In my last blog post, I chronicled how the Lord worked in my personal struggle and how that affected others the last 6-7 years.
20-22 "After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."
Reflection: "...the Lord went ahead of them..." God knows the way of our life and our future. He knows our every need and what gives us joy. We need to trust Him to guide and lead us rather than take matters into our own hands. Again, I reference my last blog post in regards to what happened in the hospital in 2021. I could have walked out, but I would have missed out on the joy when the Lord made it known to me the reason for the delays. He wanted me to know He was at work even when I couldn't see.
"...By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light..." Speaking of not being able to see... God probably knew by now that the Israelites are more than tired. They've been in bondage to Pharaoh, and have gone through a lot--for years! Even though they saw all the miraculous signs He performed, I'm thinking that He wanted to help them to continue to know He was still with them by being in the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. I thought about the cloud and the fire part as well. We may see a cloud or fog by day but it isn't quite prominent. We become aware of it, but not consciously aware of it, even as we know it's there. But a fire at night is something that we can't miss. (Fun fact: According to physicsworld.com, the human eye can see a candle about 1.5 miles away in the dark.) If we can see a candle from that far away, how much more we would notice a fire! When life circumstances are "dark" and we seek Him, we can see the Lord at work like a blazing fire, and He gives us the "warmth" or the peace of knowing He is near.
We just celebrated Christmas and sang (or heard) songs about Emmanuel. It means "God with us". How is He with us today when we haven't seen Him in a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire? He is with us through His Holy Spirit. If you did not grow up knowing about the reason for the Christmas celebration like it was for me until my early 20's, it is not just about a baby being born in a manger. It is God Himself coming to Earth in fleshly form so He could identify with us in bodily form, as well as establish His kingdom on Earth. This is how we can trust in Jesus to help us with our struggles because He experienced all our situations and feelings, yet did not sin. And He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, but was resurrected because He is God and He triumphed over something as final as death. When He left He sent His Holy Spirit to live in those who have acknowledged their own sin, turned away from it, and accepted Him as Lord & Savior of their lives.
Do you have struggles? Do you lack joy? Are you in bondage to sin or addiction? Commit your life to Jesus and turn away from self. If you have already done so, allow Him to lead you as He did the Israelites. And when "the road" seems long, far, or dark, continue to talk to Him, lean into Him, and know that He is actively at work even when you cannot see it.
