God’s Promise: Never Go Back!
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. It was a hard life. The Egyptians were cruel and heartless masters. So the Israelites called out for God to rescue them. God heard their cry. He sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. Moses guided them through the desert to the promise land.
The promises of God are sure and certain. However, the road to receiving these promises can be difficult. It can also be scary. For the Israelites, the journey to the promise land was hard and terrifying. Their leader, Moses had to constantly deal with people who wanted to go back. These people would gladly have traded their freedom for melons and cucumbers. Because some wanted to go back, a whole generation of Israelites died. They missed receiving the Promises of God.
In the Gospel of John, you can read of a time when Jesus had many followers. They followed Him because He promised freedom. They followed Him because of the miracles and signs that He performed. But then Jesus quit performing. In John 6, His teaching became difficult and scary. They began to realize that following Jesus was going to be a hard and terrifying journey. So many of them went back to their old life and died without ever receiving the Promises of God.
God has a promise for those who follow Jesus. It is a promise of salvation and eternal life. The road we travel when we follow Jesus is often scary and difficult. Many people start after Jesus. However, they fall away when His teaching demands that they take up their cross. They are required to die to themselves daily. Those who go back from following after Jesus will never experience the promises of God. For the ones who persist, there is a crown laid up in Glory.
Jesus is the way. Following Him is often difficult and scary. But when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we need not be afraid. His rod of protection and staff of guidance will give us comfort. One day we will lie down in the green pastures of His love. We will dwell in the presence of God forever. This is the promise of God for those who refuse to go back from following Christ.
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?
It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”
Exodus 14:10-14 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/exo.14.10-14.HCSB
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
email-douglas@pavementendsministry.com
