have you ever read exodus?
you know, the second chapter of the Bible?
let me give you the short version...
the israelites are living in slavery under pharoah.
they cry out to the Lord to rescue them.
God tells moses to tell pharoah to let them go.
pharoah says no.
God sends crazy plagues to show pharoah that He is God.
finally pharoah says yes.
moses leads the israelites out of egypt.
pharoah changes his mind
and takes 600 chariots and horsemen to find them.
God parts the red sea so the israelites can cross
and then returns the sea to its normal course
and swallows up the 600 egyptian chariots and horsemen.
the israelites continue on their way to the promised land.
and they are thankful.
"who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?" {ex. 15:11}
but then something happens.
they forget.
they forget what it was like to be in slavery.
in bondage.
they start complaining.
"why did you bring us up out of egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" {ex. 17:3}
excuse me?
you want to go back to slavery?
that seems preposterous.
ridiculous.
but guess what...
i've done it.
i begged the Lord for a husband, marriage, children.
wished for years for this.
and then He gave it to me.
and at first i thanked Him.
but then, it got hard.
and i remembered only the good things about being single.
my own money. pedicures. sleeping in.
and guess what i did.
i actually wished to go back.
i know. ridiculous.
let's be honest.
we all have those moments.
those times when we are discontent with our lives.
when we want more.
and then we get more.
and then we want more again.
disgusting.
i'm disgusted with myself. with my heart.
but you know what?
in exodus when the israelites grumble and complain about their thirst,
the Lord brings forth water from a rock.
He is a merciful God.
He loves us in our ugliness.
actually He sent Jesus to save us from our ugliness.
and that should create in me a thankful heart.
no matter what.
my prayer for myself...
a quiet heart.
"a quiet heart is content with what God gives." elisabeth elliot
14 comments:
I get this so much. SO MUCH.
The first year with two brought out some ugly parts of my heart. God has been so good and patient with me. Praying that you KNOW He is doing the same with you!
Lots of prayers and hugs.
Thank you for sharing this. Know you are not alone!
Wow. WOW. thanks so much for this reminder!!!
beautifully written. Thank you!
Love this. Thanks for the reminder and sharing your heart.
Yep. Perfectly said. I can definitely relate. What a great reminder. Thanks for your "realness" and for sharing.
wow is this a good truth/reminder/message. thank you for putting it into words. it hurts to come face-to-face with how selfish i am on a daily basis. this lesson from exodus is such a reminder i need to hold onto to grow from it. thank you. love you.
wow is this a good truth/reminder/message. thank you for putting it into words. it hurts to come face-to-face with how selfish i am on a daily basis. this lesson from exodus is such a reminder i need to hold onto to grow from it. thank you. love you.
Awesome.
Amen.
I've been reading through Exodus as well and I'm always like, "what idiots!" And then the Lord is like, "um...search your own heart, Jill." And then I find not so pretty things that mirror those crazy Israelites.
Great post...thank you for sharing.
have you read redemption my mike wilkerson. it's pretty amazing. he walks through the story of exodus. it's pretty great. this book. and the bible. ha. yes, that book too.
anyway, great post. loved it.
I love this post. I have so been there...still go there so many times. Thank you for writing this!
I get this post so very much! You are NOT alone! Thanks for sharing! I am so right there with you at this very moment in life!
I LOVE this post. I know you wrote it a month ago, but I wanted to tell you how much it ministered to me...today! Thank you for your honesty, and your truth that you spoke. I struggle with this so much, and am reading Exodus right now. I am with you, I used to get annoyed at them thinking how foolish they were, yet do the same thing. Praise God for grace :)
well written, thanks lev. needed to be reminded to pursue a quite heart and dwell in his infinite mercies. miss you!!
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