3.22.10

This past Sunday Josh talked about the Last Supper but with a twist that I really appreciated. He spoke about the emphasis on the table and then reflected how the story of Israel was one of being welcomed back to the table. Specifically he talked about the exodus and the struggles Israel with leaving Egypt. You see, when in Egypt they were slaves, mistreated and abused in all kinds of ways. They wanted to leave. But it was no sooner than they were standing at the Red Sea than they starting giving Moses grief. They wanted to go back!! It was what they knew. And while it was painful and degrading it was a sure thing. Moses reminded them that it wasn’t their might that delivered them but it was God and that they needed to trust God. They got across the Red Sea and saw a great miracle. You’d think that would be enough to give them confidence to trust in God. But then they started to get hungry and they started the same complaints again – we want to go back to Egypt!! God delivered and manna was provided. The cycle continued for the entire 40 years.

For me the application is too obvious. As I try to journey towards looking more like Jesus I find I have to trust to take the next step. What I really want to do is go back to Egypt. In the recovery community that called relapse. I know it’s not good for me but it’s what I know. Walking by faith, even when confronted with miracles of deliverance, is never easy. We want to know what’s going to happen.

One of the women we work with is going through the same struggles. As we try to be Jesus to her, we are asking her to trust us more than she trusts her past. She wants to move forward but the call of Egypt is strong. How do you finally walk away from Egypt? Only by replacing it with something else – not by just trying to forget it. New relationships that offer acceptance, unconditional love, accountability and love are the answer. God offered that to Israel and they struggled to accept it. Why should any of us be any different? Can we be the one to offer that new relationship to another person? Or are we talking behind their backs, looking down our noses at how they act, dress or smell? Can we accept someone like we want God to accept us – warts and all? It’s not until we see how broken we are that we can be humble enough to accept someone else. And we’ll never see ourselves as broken until we see that it’s all about God and his love for us – not about us and how we are able to do anything. Step one is to admit we are powerless. As long as we think we can go back to Egypt we are never powerless.