In the book of Exodus, we come across the story of the Israelites being in slavery in Egypt after times changed and there arose a Pharoah who did not know Joseph (Ex 1:8-11). It was during this season that Moses was born and after being raised in the Palace by Pharoah’s daughter and his mother, killing an Egyptian and fleeing to Midian, God appeared to him and commissioned him to go on His behalf to speak to Pharoah and get the Israelites out of Egypt.
When God spoke to Moses, the instruction came with promises “… I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ Ex 3: 16-17, “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed…” Ex 3:21-22. So, besides the pain they were going through in Egypt, the promises were added motivations to want to go with Moses to Pharoah to request their departure.
When Pharoah agreed to let them go, it is recorded that “…God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea…” Ex 13: 17-18. Turns out the wilderness was God’s way of protecting the Israelites from their “weakness”. God already knew that if they faced opposition, they might want to go back to their suffering (maintain status quo) even though He had already given them Canaan and had a clear plan to get them there.
God had another reason for taking them through the wilderness – to totally annihilate their oppressor so they never had to ‘look over their shoulders’ again wondering if they were been ‘haunted’ by the Egyptians. He hardened Pharoah’s heart so Pharoah chased after the them and eventually all the army of Egypt that went after the Israelites perished in the red sea. (Ex 14).
“…the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; … Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? … Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.” Ex 14:10-12. This is an extract of the Israelites reaction/response when they got to the red sea and saw Pharoah right behind them. Let’s peel these back a bit.
In spite of the success they had just experienced, at the first sign of trouble, FEAR gripped them and they started to sing another tune. They were ready to go back to what they were accustomed to even though it was not palatable and God had something better in store for them.
Isn’t this what we experience even today? God gives us a promise (through His word, an inner witness, an idea, a dream, a vision, an experience etc.) and starts us on the journey to the promise however, in His infinite wisdom, He sometimes allows a “thorn”/”challenge” which has the tendency to derail us in the future, show up so it can be addressed now and not get in the way when we should be focused on taking over the promise.
Truth be told, many times the challenge is real, scary and overwhelming (feels like you are between the devil and the deep blue sea) and the easy thing to do is give up on the promise and return to status quo like the Israelites wanted to do. That “Pharoah” could also be things like old mindsets, fears, prior experiences, hurts, lack etc., that has a tendency to show up later and mess up our future.
However, there is another way to keep moving forward, not lose out of all God has in store for us or deny God’s power from being revealed (Ex. 14:31) and we see that exemplified in Moses. He affirmed his trust in God then cried out to Him for direction. God gave him the instructions to follow, and obedience to those instructions led to their deliverance and doom of the Egyptians. This shows that one of the ways we get out of ‘tight corners’ is faith in God, seeking His guidance and obeying all that He instructs regardless of how silly, impractical or inconveniencing it sounds.
One more thing before we move to another experience, imagine what would have happened if after God gave Moses the instructions, Moses did not obey for a myriad of reasons that seem reasonable and rational to him. I’ll leave this to you.
Prayer:
Heavenly father, I worship you because you alone are God, there is none other and you rule in the affairs of men. I ask that you forgive me all times and seasons I have ‘aborted’ your plans for my life. I pray that in your mercy, you will give me a second chance to make things right and walk in the fullness of all that you desire for me. Grant me wisdom, direction, courage, and strength to walk in total obedience to you in spite of what my natural mind thinks. Thank you for answering my prayers, in Jesus name I pray.
Stay connected,
Bolaji Ajayi
And the word became flesh 
When God gives us instructions sometimes, it looks so stupid and meaningless. Only if we can follow it to the letter, we will realize it’s the best option for us.
Gods ways are not ours, and He works in a miraculous way. May He always guide us to choose the right part 🙏
LikeLiked by 2 people