Out of the Darkness

08/21/2009

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.
So live as people of light! Ephesians 5:8 (NLT)

I read just the other day, “If you are moving forward toward your vision, the fear will never go away.” This seems so true, and it’s probably the reason why we would too often choose to just stay in one place, to not change, to not grow, to not make progress—because fear grips us and we freeze, and we’d rather turn around and do what’s familiar rather than move forward into the light and do what’s best…what God is calling us to. The Israelites just wanted to go back to Egypt, back to slavery and to do what was familiar. How sad to choose the darkness of the past over the light of the future.

Soon they were all saying it to one another:
"Let's pick a new leader; let's head back to Egypt."
Numbers 14:4 (The Message Bible)

If in moving forward the “fear will never go away,” then it will always seem safer to stay the same or even retreat, but that is not what God has called us to. God has called us Homeward, and to serve Him as we travel there. He has called us to be His, to be free, to love the life He’s given us, and to bring Him all the glory we can in this life. Only Satan wants us bound up in the fear that will squelch the plans God has for us, plans made before we were ever born.

Life changes all along the way, and none of it’s easy, but to go back to “Egypt” would be heading in the wrong direction. We don’t want to miss what God has promised us on the path that holds all the best He has for us! “Egypt” wasn’t all we thought it was, so if we’re looking for the good old days, let’s look at today! “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NIV) Each day is a new day, a day to begin again!

The waiting is hard, the changes are hard, the unknown is hard…it can all be nerve-wracking, but God knows it is! That’s why He talks about it in His Word, always encouraging us through it! He doesn’t want us to ever miss out on what He has waiting for us even if His plans for us mean going Home to Heaven because that’s the part of the journey we’re on…that truly is the Promised Land, and when we get there they’ll be no thought of going back to “Egypt” ever again.

Let’s pray our way through whatever it is that faces us, and have others pray for us too. Let’s keep on praying even when we come out on the other side, and always remember to give thanks for all that God has done. Prayer doesn’t make it all easy, but it helps to keep us moving forward, knowing we’re not alone. It doesn’t take all the fear out of the equation; it just makes it so the strength of God outweighs the fear that would stop us in the process. Prayer helps us to focus and allows us to see God’s hand on what we’re going through, to see His miracles unfold, and to know that with Heavenly help all things are possible here on Earth.