becoming a slave

I was just reading in my Bible about how God brought the Israelites to Egypt to provide for them during a famine and draught. Then they got comfortable and decided to settle. Yet that wasn’t the land promised to them. The Egyptians felt they had overstayed their welcome. They started to enslave them. When that wasn’t enough, they started to command that the male children be killed to stop the Israelites from multiplying. Still they stayed in the land that didn’t want them. They complained to God. Ultimately, God did lead them out and they took the riches of the land with them.

It occurs to me that we as Christians are a lot like the Israelites. We call out our needs to him, he leads us to a place of provision and we make a camp with no intentions of leaving that comfortable place. We justify it. God brought me here, he is blessing me here. But we don’t seek him; to enquire is this a temporary place in time? Do you have a different plan?

When our assignments are complete, God allows things to become uncomfortable. The favor is removed. We are confused by what has shifted. Yet our human weakness is a dislike of change. We would rather endure the familiar and uncomfortable rather than take a chance on the unknown.

I honestly believe we become like slaves to the comfortable known environment we find ourselves in. I remember once my husband had gotten a job in a town called Goshen. We marveled at this opportunity but with it came a warning. God specifically told my husband to not become a slave to that job. We settled in, we liked the place we were living. God was blessing us financially, and spiritually. We had no desire to leave. We had friends that were like family to us. Then the unthinkable happened. My husband’s company closed. We were forced to move. It was very uncomfortable for us. We left our friends, our home the we loved, to venture into a new job, new location that made no sense to us in the natural. God had to force us to leave because we had become enslaved to the lifestyle we were enjoying.

The first 3 years were unpleasant. We would cry out to God, please send us somewhere else. We don’t like it here. We just couldn’t understand God’s logic. It didn’t make sense to us. One day God even answered me with a question, Who is whom’s servant? There were many layers of undercurrents taking place. The move was extremely important to our family for many reasons not pertinent to this discussion. We ended up making new friends, new connections. God blessed us in the new location. We became comfortable again. We saw a ministry develop and grow as a result of the move. It would never have happened if we had stayed in our previous home. After 10 years, God started to make things uncomfortable again, we sensed that things were changing. Again, the call to move made no earthly logic.

While I can understand a very small part of why God initiated this move, again, the discomfort of making a new way is happening. Just as before, I long for a release to leave. I don’t wanting to be here. I have to believe that eventually, I will become comfortable again and not want to be uprooted. But that isn’t the way God works, at least in my life. He is ever moving, initiating new things. To be a follower of his, a disciple, means to set aside our comfort, our desires. We can’t become a slave to the environment we are living in, the job, the ministry, or even family. When his pillar moves we have to be willing to go as well.

It is in these changes that we grow. We experience new adventures, met new people, learn more about God. In the new territory we have to rely on God. It develops our trust. Just as God allowed the Israelites to take the treasures from Egypt, I believe we take the treasures from our old territory with us. Those treasures may not be financial treasures, although they may be, but they include the growth, and the development you attained in the old location. These are the provisions for the new assignment. You take all that you need for success into the new territory and the cycle repeats. Each change is a challenge, each change is an opportunity for growth. Don’t become a slave to your familiar world. Allow God to lead you into the new promises. You won’t be disappointed. Keep your hands open, allowing God to take what needs to be removed. You can be sure, he will replace what was removed with something more appropriate for where you are today.