With fists in the air, the Israelites triumphantly leave Egypt. They had nothing to fear, the Lord was their guide (Ex 13:20-21). He leads them by a pillar of cloud in the morning and a pillar of fire in the evening. After their long captivity, their first taste of freedom was sweet…until they looked back.
They were a far cry from the nation they would someday be, so it’s no wonder they panicked when they saw the Egyptian army pursuing them. Their reaction was less than stellar considering God was leading them, but they were scared. How did they deal with their fear? They told Moses they’d rather be slaves in Egypt instead of corpses in the wilderness (Ex 14:10-12).
In other words, they felt so overwhelmed and unprepared that captivity sounded better than confronting their fears. They’d rather go back to the place they had been seeking deliverance from rather than brave the challenges that came with escape. The longing to return to the familiar is natural and compelling but the road to healing and freedom often means dealing with issues that push us out of our comfort zone.
Moses quells their fears by telling them four things: Do not be afraid, stand still, remain calm and watch the LORD rescue them (Ex 14:13-14). Sitting back and watching God do His thing sounds fantastic! Sometimes this is exactly what we need to do, but that wasn’t the case this time. God never told the Israelites to stand still, those were Moses’ instructions. What God tells them is just the opposite. He says, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!” (Ex 14:15)
This wasn’t the time to stand still, an enemy was approaching. God was calling them to move. This was the moment to take an active role in their journey to freedom. They needed to keep moving even if their past was hot on their heels threatening to drag them back to the life they just left.
What I’m learning
Although this passage is about the Israelites’ escape from Egypt, it made me think about our journeys to freedom. First, even though we’ve escaped our past, sometimes it will still come to threaten us and drag us back. In those moments of temptation, remember God is our guide and He will be with us every step of the way. We don’t need to fear the past, we just need to look forward to the future.
Second, we need to be careful who we’re listening to. It’s easy to be influenced by culture, popular opinion and/or other people that we follow it instead of God. On our journeys to freedom, we need to make sure we are listening to God.
Lastly, when an enemy is on our tail, we keep moving. We can’t be overcome by fear and overwhelmed by emotions that we stop. Keep moving, it’s the only way to deliverance.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[a] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Phil 3:13-14 NLT