Exo 14:12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
The children of Israel had left Egypt with great joy. Well, that joy didn’t last very long. For upon seeing the Egyptian armies chasing behind them, their joy dried out and fear set in, “and they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12).
They had forgotten that it was through a mighty hand of God that they were able to leave Egypt. But now, upon seeing Pharaoh and his armies, they became slaves again. They saw death and graves. They saw hopelessness.
Maybe they were saying: “Blame it on Moses; it was all his fault. We should never have listened to him. Why has he brought us to this wilderness to die? Life was tough in Egypt but at least, we were alive. Now, we are going to die! It would be better to return to Egypt and serve the Egyptians! Let’s choose a leader who will take us back.”
How easy it is to complain, gripe and groan when things are not going as expected. Have you ever have this thought that life would be better if you had not become a Christian? You begin to look back to your former life and reminiscing how free you had been without Christ. Now, you feel God is controlling your life. You want to break free again. You want to go back to the world where you can be free again.
Perish the thought! Be on guard against this faithless form of thinking: “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). The devil wants you to feel defeated. He wants to rob you of your joy as Christian and go back to him. Instead, you should focus your mind on God’s promises: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelations 2:10).
Nothing on this earth is permanent; not even our troubles. When it feels like things are falling apart, we can trust that God is putting them all back together. When we focus on God, our troubles become “light afflictions”. Paul wrote: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). The trials which Paul endured, to many persons would have seemed to be anything else but light, yet Paul speaks of them as the lightest conceivable things when compared with that eternal glory awaiting him.
We need to have this same mind of Paul – the glory awaiting before us is much more glorious and eternal compared to the sufferings we may be undergoing at this moment. Heaven will surely be worth it all.
Moses told the fearful Israelites: “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14). He directed them to leave it to God. We are never alone in this fight: The LORD shall fight for you. We need to heed the advice: “Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13). That’s exactly what we should do when we are troubled and worry too much – Stand Still.
A girl who will make a sacrifice to marry a poor man and it’s all because of love; life is a beautiful struggle when both are in love. Likewise, life is a beautiful struggle when we have God. Let us look forward instead of looking back: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Jimmy Lau
Psa 119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.