What is my Egypt?

In Numbers the Israelites stand at the edge of the Promised Land. The land God has promised to them for generations, the fulfillment of a promise made to their patriarch Abraham. To get them to this point God has done nothing short of astonishing miracle after astonishing miracle. He has made His presence known to them in a cloud and in fire. They can see His presence with their own eyes. So they stand, an army ready to enter the land...and they lose their faith. They get scared. They forget God's grace and His faithfulness. They even cry out that they want to go back to Egypt, the land of their slavery.

So what is my Egypt? What do I choose over God's promises? What looks safe and secure but is nothing but shackles and chains? When I take my eyes off God and start to panic, what do I turn to even though God has freed me from it? Is it my house? Maybe my job or the paycheck that comes with it? Is it feeling safe in my gated community or knowing my child is getting a great education in an adorable school that looks like a castle? A lot of the times it's the dreams, the vision I have of a "nice life" with summers spent at the pool, fall spent at football games, and life spent enjoying one event after another. These are Egypt to me. At one point they make me feel safe and secure and then I look again and realize they may be the very things that enslave me. The very things that I cling to instead of clinging tightly to my God. The very things that make me swallow hard when I think of giving them up.

But wouldn't I give it all up...every bit of it to see God's glory in my life? The house, the job, the dream are worthless without Him. They are fading, corroding, disintegrating right in front of my eyes. Only His glory is forever.

God, please please show me how to live this short day in light of an eternal tomorrow. I want my life to count. Don't let me waste it. You are worth it.

-holly