I know I’m not in Honduras anymore, but I’ve been meaning to post this ever since I came home (almost a month ago now😧) and I’ve finally taken the time to write it! Just some thoughts about things I have been learning, especially during this trying time.
There’s this book called Garden City by John Mark Comer that I finished in Honduras and a part of it allowed me to see the Old Testament book of Exodus in a whole new light. (By the way, Garden City is all about work, rest, and the art of being human and I highly recommend it!)
The book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible is all about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The Israelites were enslaved to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Their lives were completely controlled by King Pharaoh. Just when you’d think he gave them enough work, he would demand more, not even allowing the Israelites more time to finish. What they completed was never enough. King Pharaoh was never satisfied. To say the Israelites’ lives were brutal would be an understatement. It was inhumane. The Israelites were trapped, hopeless, exhausted, and starving for freedom. They needed someone to rescue them.
Then, God calls Moses, an ordinary man, to go before King Pharaoh and intervene for the Israelites and demand their freedom. After Pharaoh denies Moses several times, King Pharaoh finally had enough and allows Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses and all of the Israelites were finally freed from King Pharaoh… completely free! Slaves no more. Well, not quite. Pharaoh changed his mind after some time and went after Moses and the Israelites to take the Israelites back as slaves. Moses and the Israelites turn around when they were at the edge of the Red Sea and see King Pharaoh and his whole army, all of it, racing toward them to take them captive again. There was no where for the Israelites to run; they were trapped. The Israelites were freaking out (like yelling at Moses and wishing they would have stayed in Egypt kind of freaking out… there are definitely lessons to learn from the Israelites in Exodus although that’s not really the point of this blog post), but Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and seek the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Ex. 14:13-14). God tells Moses to lift up his staff, and stretch his hand out over the sea and divide it, so the people of Israel can go through the sea on dry ground. Moses leads the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry ground. Pharaoh and his army followed after them. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen'” (Ex. 14:26). The waters returned and covered Pharaoh and all of his men… “…not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Ex. 14:28-29).
Exodus 14 ends with this: “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day form the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”
Pastor John went on to explain that sometimes (for me, almost all of the time) we become slaves to the world and fall under the “go go go” mentality. Work more, buy more, do more, _____ more, more, more. It’s almost like we’re under Pharoah’s rule again. We have far too much on our plate than we can possibly accomplish as a human being, or maybe we’re not really literally busy, but our minds are. We’re telling ourselves we need to be more this or more that, whatever it may be! More smart, more pretty, more fit, more funny, more____. Fill in the blank. We believe we can do it if we just work harder, faster, better to get wherever we’re going or be whoever we want to be… the good ole American Dream.
What I forget on the daily is that God Himself has ALREADY freed us from this unfulfilling, always leaving me empty life!! Just like God used Moses to free the Israelites from King Pharaoh, God used Jesus to FREE us from this world where feelings of unworthiness or uselessness or the urge to GO GO GO are so relevant. God parted the Red Sea for us. He made a way when there was no way and is leading us into the Promised Land.
The problem with thinking I’m not enough or I’m not doing enough is it’s always about ME. I am this, I am not that, I need to do this, I shouldn’t do that… It’s not about me anymore after I give my life to Jesus. It’s about stepping into new life with Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to use me as a vessel. It’s about giving all the GLORY back to our God! I don’t have to try to do this or be that, because I am a new creation in Christ. It doesn’t mean those thoughts of go, go, go, and more, more, more are going to disappear, but we have a Savior to turn to to remind us that we are no longer slaves to those thoughts, feelings, emotions…
John Mark Comer uses this story in Exodus to explain the significance of the Sabbath. Spiritual disciples, like the Sabbath, are like channels for God’s grace, love and freedom to move in and through us. Pastor John puts it this way – practicing the Sabbath is kind of like putting a steak in the ground and saying I will go this far and no further in this more, more, more world. Practicing the Sabbath is kind of like your way to declare as a follower of Jesus that you no longer are a slave to King Pharaoh’s world, but you are FREE from that and belong to a different King, a greater King. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Maker of everything.
I think in a sense all spiritual disciplines can be seen in this way, like silence and solitude, fasting, meditation, etc. When you practice them, they are a way to proclaim to yourself and to the world that you don’t belong to this world, but you look forward to eternity. It’s a way to bring you back to the feet of Jesus, and thank Him that you have the freedom to STOP, rest, breathe, pray, sing, dance, run, jump, walk, be in fellowship with others, and do those re-creating things that God has set in your heart. What a WEIGHT off of our shoulders.
The freedom found in Christ! It’s incomprehensible. This freedom can be so easily covered up, though. Life is such a daily walk with Jesus. A daily, moment by moment, Holy Spirit lead me, walk with Jesus. How important it is to stay in His word. At least that’s what I’ve been reminded of and learning more about these past couple months…grabbing the hand of Jesus in the still of the morning and holding onto it until I fall asleep that night.
Maybe this time, when the world has been forced to slow down, we can use it to move further up and further in to God’s Kingdom. Maybe we can use it as a time to learn more about that freedom. Whether that be through practicing the Sabbath, spending time in silence and solitude, meditating on God’s word and/or praying the Scriptures, etc.
At the end of the day, if you’re a follower of Jesus, you are FREE from the fear, anxiety, stress, and panic that is especially looming with all things coronavirus today. Like totally FREE! How is it that we get to walk in FREEDOM?! God is a good King.
We are in such a weird time… this time has allowed me to re-evaluate the foundation I’m building my life on. If it feels like the foundation you’re standing on is crumbling beneath you, come and stand on the rock that will never crumble. The Rock Our God. Let the praise go up! Thank you Jesus for freeing us from it all and giving us a new life… Let the Holy Spirit change you from the inside out and go and share this freedom with everybody!!
He truly is the Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, and Light in the Darkness. Every day, every hour, every minute, and every second.
Your sister in Christ,
Emma
P.S. You should go and read Garden City by John Mark Comer!
Romans 8:18-23, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creating itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Honduras 2020 