Remember the Exodus

One thing the Israelites of the Old Testament liked to do was glorify their days in Egypt. They would on multiple occasions exclaim that it would have been better if they had never left Egypt than to be wandering in the wilderness they were now in. In the book of Numbers (the fourth book in the Bible), we see that God provided their food every day in the form of manna. They just had to go out and gather it and prepare it. They got tired of it, though, and complained that it wasn’t as delicious as the food they had in Egypt. Egypt— where they were slaves and where their infant sons were murdered. They didn’t remember Egypt as it truly was. It was never meant to be their permanent home anyway.

One of my favorite songs is Painting Pictures of Egypt by Sara Groves. The chorus says:

I've been painting pictures of Egypt,

I've been leaving out what it lacks

The future feels so hard,

And I wanna go back

The Israelites had selective memory, forgetting their enslavement and only remembering their few comforts. They were on their way to the Promised Land, and God promised them victory in response to their obedience. But they craved something else to eat, and that took priority over trusting God and His provision.

The Bible Recap book’s commentary on Numbers 11:

Their complaints aren’t related to an unmet need. This isn’t desperation— this is entitlement. God provides for them, but they don’t think it’s sufficient. They long for Egypt, forgetting that whatever God calls you to endure with Him is better than any kind of abundance without Him. It’s not like they had abundance in Egypt anyway! They’re romanticizing the past, and God calls it a rejection of Him.

In the book of Exodus, God parted the Red Sea and delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians, but quickly after (Numbers 11), the Israelites are found grumbling about food. They have witnessed a grand miracle, and all they can think about now is what else they want to eat. Aren’t we guilty of similar grumblings? We forget what God has done for us. When the present gets tough, we romanticize the past. When our present circumstances seem boring, less than glamourous, not exactly what we want, we complain rather than praise the fact we have daily provision.

The Bible Handbook commentary on Exodus says this:

Exodus gives a glimpse of the propensity of mankind to forget the goodness of the Lord. God delivers the Israelites time and time again, yet their hearts still wander from the Lord. They are eyewitnesses to many miracles that God performs, they see Him fulfill His promise, and they experience firsthand the covenant faithfulness of the Lord, but they still wander and look for other gods. This sinful condition is not limited to the Israelites. Instead, we would do well to recognize ourselves in the people of Israel. Exodus, with all of its portrayal of God’s provision, deliverance, and faithfulness, helps us to safeguard wander-prone hearts and teaches us to rely on the Lord’s promises.

What about your past are you wrongly remembering or glorifying because it seems easier than trusting God? Which God-given provisions are you grumbling about? What Red Sea moments are you forgetting? Stop and thank God for his provisions. Stop and remember His times of rescue in your life. Stop and ask Him to strengthen your faith and to help you to rely on Him and His plan.

I’ll leave you with these lyrics from another favorite song and issue a challenge for us to rely on God’s provisions and to trust His plan when we’re in the wilderness.

When you’re living in the Numbers, remember the Exodus.

Ellie Holcomb, Red Sea Road:

We will sing to our souls

We won't bury our hope

Where He leads us to go

There's a Red Sea road

When we can't see the way

He will part the waves

And we'll never walk alone

Down the Red Sea road

Oh help us believe You are faithful, you're faithful

When our hearts are breaking

You are faithful, You're faithful

You'll grant us eyes to see

You are faithful, You're faithful

Teach us to sing

You are faithful, You're faithful, You're faithful 

 

Psalm 84: No Good Thing Does He Withhold

I started reading through the book of Psalms a few weeks ago.  Today I got to Psalm 84.  Verse 11 reads, "For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those who walk is blameless."

You might be saying, "But is that really the case?"

In April 2012, I wrote a blog post, just barely touching on this subject.

Since that blog post, I have been more sick than I was at the time I wrote that, have had job changes, have had less money, have had a child, have been well, have been sick again, have been getting better, have had more financially, on and on.

Here is one thing that has not changed: God's goodness.

Despite the sickness, physical pain, emotional rollercoasters,  and financial strains, God has not changed or been less good.  I have seen His goodness more and more.  Not because He has been more good (excuse the grammar there), but because my eyes have been opened more to His goodness.

So, how can we say that God doesn't withhold good from us when we may be ill or financially struggling?  Maybe it's because what we deem as good isn't the same thing God deems as good.  My illness isn't good, and it's a sign of this broken world.  But this illness can be a tool in God's hand to grow me and teach me lessons I wouldn't learn otherwise.  Growing is good.  Learning is good.  God teaching me is good.

We have to see good as God sees good.  When we love and follow Him, He doesn't withhold good.  He doesn't leave us-- good.  He shelters us-- good.  He grows us-- good.  He loves us even though we never deserve it-- good.

My pastor regularly says that God is more interested in my holiness than He is in my happiness.  It's not that He doesn't want me to be happy.  It's that what He wants more is for me to be holy.  Sometimes what I see as bad is really God teaching me to be more like Him.  What I see is such a small part of the bigger picture.  I have to trust God and His plan.  Even when my health is failing or the finances are bare.  Never does the Bible say that those things will fulfill me anyway.

When you back up in Psalm 84, you see that good is dwelling with God (verse 4) and praising Him (v. 4), finding strength in Him (v. 5), abiding in His house rather than among the wicked (v. 10). Being with God is good, a God that is the only One who satisfies (Ps. 81:16).  He doesn't withhold His presence from us when we go to Him.  And even better-- He comes looking for us!

When I wrote that post in 2012, I included two videos that I'll include again.

I need daily reminders of what it means to see and receive God's goodness.  The world can tell me that's status and money and my physical appearance.  But thank goodness, goodness is so much more beyond any of that.

God's Goodness

I've been dealing with some health issues for a little while now, and it's been extremely frustrating.  It's frustrating to go to the doctor for them to only continue to guess at what might be the problem.  I'm not blaming doctors.  Some conditions can't be diagnosed through blood tests, and it's usually a game of elimination.  It becomes frustrating when the answers and solutions don't come, and when others don't understand.  To someone on the outside, it looks like I've just simply put on weight, because I'm lazy or eat too much.  But the truth is, that's not the case.  Weight gain in and of itself is hard to deal with.  It's even more difficult when it's literally painful.  I've cried many a night and prayed for God to fix it.  I've prayed to be back to where I was just a few years ago.  I've prayed for others not to judge me and make comments about my weight.  I've prayed for the painful swelling in my body to go away.  While I'll continue to pray for health and healing, I know that it may not come.  I may never be the size 2 I was just three years ago.  God has blessed me immensely and continues to do so daily.  And while I pray that He'll bless my health again, it may not be so.  I just have to realize that His goodness is so much more than the physical.  Sara Groves helped me learn that a little better in her song "Open My Hands".  Maybe there's someone else that needed to hear her song today, and I hope it gives you comfort.