When I was a teenager, my father used to tell me that when bad things happen, we are given the opportunity to examine our lives and see if there are areas that we need to change for the better. When I was young, I understood this to a point - especially one time when I wrecked my car - and another time when I found myself in the hospital needing emergency surgery - both times I remembered my father's words, and realized there were things in my life that were not what God intended for me. Both of these events helped me to get on a path back to God when I had been in a season of running from Him.
Now that I am an adult, and a devoted follower of Jesus, I understand this on a whole new level. Our Heavenly Father has given us the same message in His Word, multiple times in many examples.
In the book of Exodus, Moses leads his people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt. When they get to the Red Sea, it appears there is no way to cross. They are camped along the shore and when they see Pharaoh and his chariots descending upon them, they panic. They say, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." (
Exodus 14:11-12)
The truth is, sometimes we are content in our bondage. There is a better way, a better life that God has for us, but we have gotten comfortable doing things our way, still being held in slavery, and when God starts to change our lives, we get scared. We see the threat of hardship, and suddenly our old ways become attractive to us. Instead of trusting God to take us to the promised land, we run back to where we feel we are safer. How silly it seems to us, reading this story, that the Israelites would rather be in slavery than trust God and His promise! But we are just like the Israelites in many ways, when we resist the deliverance God wants for us because we think we know better.
As the scriptures go on, God parts the Red Sea and makes a way where there was none. The Israelites pass through on dry ground to safety, and their enemies are swallowed up by the sea. It's an epic picture of what God can and will do when we trust and follow Him.
James 1:2-4 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
Sometimes bad things happen in our lives - things we never would have asked for - things that cause pain at first. These things could appear as curses, but if we look at things through the lens of the Bible, we start to see a new picture, and our thinking begins to change, and new opportunity arises.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."
1 Peter 5:10 says, "In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation."
God is removing the veil from our eyes. In His grace, He is allowing us to see things for what they really are. Just like the Israelites, He is bringing us out of bondage and leading us to share in His eternal glory. As the veil is removed, troubles may come our way, and we can see Pharaoh and his chariots chasing us down. Our old ways begin to look safer to us. But this is our opportunity to see our circumstances as a blessing - not a curse - from God, who parts the Red Sea for us and takes us through safely on dry ground. This is our opportunity to let God rip open the veil and expose the things in our life that need changing still. We may want to close it and run back to safety, but we will never grow, and will prove that we don't trust God after all. If Pharaoh never came, the Israelites may have stayed camped on the shore, but it was the trouble that caused them to want to cross the Red Sea. And God provided the way for them.
I have been struggling with my anger lately, and I have lost my temper with my kids over the last couple days. It is something I know is wrong, but in the moment I often feel justified. Last night before bed, I was losing my patience again because my three-year-old was not obeying. After she went upstairs to brush her teeth, I overheard her saying that I was not a good mom. I know that little kids say stuff and they don't always understand what they are saying, but for me it was a punch in the gut. It was also a veil-opening moment. In an instant, I saw that my precious three-year-old felt like I was not a good mom, and I knew she was right. My sin was exposed, and I could see it, right there in the open. I wanted to be angry. How dare she say I'm not a good mom?! I do everything for her and I love her dearly! I wanted to run back to Egypt and let my anger teach her a lesson about kids who don't have moms and how she should be thankful. But in God's mercy, He had allowed me to hear her heart. He had allowed the veil to be pulled back so I could see how my anger and frustration is hurting my baby. It was an opportunity God was giving me to repent for doing things my way, and trust Him to take me somewhere new. He wants to make me more like Him. I am thankful for that. I feel blessed that He takes the time to give me these opportunities. Without God opening my eyes and allowing painful circumstances, I would still be in slavery in Egypt. It is painful, and I suffer when these things happen, but as I follow closely to Jesus, He heals and restores me, and suddenly I find myself in a better place than I ever imagined.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your beautiful Word. Thank you for wanting great things for us, even when we don't want good things for ourselves. Thank you for keeping your promises. Lord help us to accept the gift of your love by seeing our difficult circumstances as an opportunity to become more like you. Keep us from running back to Egypt, back to bondage, but deliver us from evil. Help us to trust and follow you even when it looks like there's no way to get where we need to be. When the veil is opened, make us courageously enter into the change that you have for us. Thank you for loving us always and being with us. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
