Regardless of our age, many of us have found ourselves, at some point, harkening back to the “good ole days.” Those days may not even have been that long ago. Most of us find ourselves harkening back to the days before COVID.
Whatever those days are for you, you probably remember them fondly. Our memories tend to wash away most, if not all, of the challenges, complications and difficulties those days actually contained. In truth, as we look back, we recall that time as more idyllic, less complicated and more fulfilling than it really was. And – if during our stroll down memory lane – we happen to recall any of our sinful behavior during those days, we tend to gloss over the sin, and instead, long for the temporary pleasure it provided.
That impulse to harken back to yesterday is often triggered by the overwhelming challenges of our current reality. We may be longing for a day before social distancing, face masks, and restrictions in how we gather. We may be longing for days that are not filled with disease or difficulty. We may be longing for days that feel more fulfilling or less hectic.
Some of those reasons really make sense, and each of us can empathize. But, sometimes our longing comes from a basic human desire to long for that which we don’t have anymore. A couple of examples come to mind.
i wonder if Moses, while he was tending to his father-in-law’s flocks on Mount Horeb, ever looked back on his days growing up in the palace as an adopted son of pharaoh. i wonder if he longed for the good life. i also wonder if he, when he was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, ever looked back at those quiet days on Mount Horeb, without all the complaints of a contentious people.
i even wonder if Jesus, while He was growing up in Nazareth, ever looked back on the days of eternity past with the Father in heaven without the dirt and toil of growing up in a fallen world. i also wonder if even Jesus, as He hung on that cross looking down at His mother weeping at His feet, momentarily thought back to happier days growing up in the home of Mary and Joseph with His younger half-brothers and half-sisters.
The Israelites often looked back when they were encountering the challenges of journeying through the wilderness – hunger, thirst, or even the threat of an enemy. As a matter of fact, they had only been in the wilderness for slightly more than a month when they came to Moses grumbling, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate all the bread we could eat!”(1)
In the days immediately preceding, they had seen God’s hand of delivery from their slavery in Egypt, and God’s miraculous defeat of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. They had seen God make the bitter waters sweet. Now, rather than trusting their miracle-working God to meet the need of their hunger, they harkened back to those glorious pots of meat and bread in Egypt. They acted like those days of oppressive bondage as slaves were so wonderful. They forgot the sting of their master’s whip. They forgot what it was like to not be free. How easily they forgot Who it was who was leading them! How easily they forgot His faithfulness in the past and His promises for the future!
One thing we see throughout Scripture and throughout time is that it was never God’s plan to lead us back. He has always been at work to lead us forward – closer to Himself – through His merciful and gracious gift of salvation.
Salvation is the great mystery of God purposed in Christ, fulfilled through Christ, and revealed by Christ. J. I. Packer wrote, “The gospel proclaims that the God who saved Israel from Egypt … saves all who trust Christ from sin and sin’s consequences.”
The deliverance of the people of Israel from their bondage to their Egyptian slaveholders was accomplished solely by the miraculous work of God. It wasn’t accomplished through the revolt of the Israelites themselves. It wasn’t accomplished through their superior military prowess or their great bravery in battle. Their salvation from slavery was accomplished solely through the work of God and granted to them by His merciful grace. And our salvation has been granted to us in the same way.
God never promised them that their lives would be free of difficulty after their deliverance from Egypt – but He promised them He would be right there with them every step of the way. And He has given us that same promise as well!
The Israelites took their eyes off of the One who was leading them. He was leading them to the mountain that they might worship Him. We were created to worship Him, and He is worthy of our worship. Our very lives are to be an offering of worship. When we set our eyes on Him, like the apostle John in the book of Revelation, we will fall at His feet and worship Him. There will be no other response when our eyes are on Him. But in the midst of the journey, they, like us, took their eyes off of Him.
When they did, they became distracted by their circumstances and their surroundings. When we take our eyes off of our Lord, we become disoriented – we lose sight, not only of His Person, but also His purpose and His plan – and we start to think that everything is all about us. We start to think about our comfort and our convenience. And when we do, the wilderness ceases to be a path to worship and becomes an uncomfortable and inconvenient place to be. The walk through it is too long, too hot and too difficult.
And then what do we do? Just like the Israelites, we look back and begin to murmur. The next thing we know, we are hungering for the things of this world. Those leaks and onions back in Egypt never tasted so good! We have become so blinded by our fleshly desires that we are ready to return to the captivity from which He has delivered us in order to receive the temporary satisfaction that those things will provide.
Though we may have days when times past seem brighter and happier in light of what we are walking through in the here and now, let’s take a lesson from the Israelites. Let’s keep our eyes on our Lord and hold onto His promise. The place He has prepared for us is ahead. The brightest days of His promise are still yet to come. The days when there will be no more strife, no more pain and no more death are just ahead on the horizon. Trust the One who led you out to lead you through. Trust Him to lead you to that place, and allow Him to draw you close throughout the journey.
There’s no turning back. Our greatest days are ahead!
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This post is adapted from The Journey Begins, chapter 10, entitled “The Wilderness of Sin”. This first book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print and for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
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(1) Exodus 16:3 (ESV)
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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