The Bible in 90 Days
Day 6: Exodus 1:1-15:18 || Read the CEB online.
“The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. The Israelites said to them, ‘Oh, how we wish that the LORD had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.’” (Exodus 16:2, 3 CEB)
Sometimes despair takes over. When you’re doing something different and the flame of hope gets blown out by the wind of despair, when your good intentions are drowned in the expectations you aren’t meeting, then it’s easy to just embrace the impulses of doubt and death.
Every group, every team, every class, every organization, every company, every body that has 2 or more people experiences dissonance, experiences frustrated expectations, experiences disagreement and doubt. Moses’ leadership was no different. God’s leadership (!) was no different. But that didn’t water down the commitment to making the journey to freedom, even if led through the desert. It didn’t lift the responsibility to liberation, it didn’t short-circuit the necessary work of spiritual formation. People are going to struggle against change, against doing the necessary-but-difficult things, against anything that’s not designed to be comfortable. They might even prefer death (literally, or–more likely in our location–metaphorical: through entertainment, for instance) to a free life. Liberty is hard, and not for the faint of heart. But it is not something out of our reach. God knows we can handle it, Moses knows we can handle it…but do we?
Who helps you see the new possibilities in your life?
When have you had overwhelming doubt?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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