Those Israelites, man.
They were slaves to the Egyptians for at least 400 years.
400 years of being used, degraded and discriminated against.
Yet, God has a plan to bring them out of Egypt... to redeem them. And He does.
But every single time things get hard on their journey to the promised land, the Isrealites complained.
And complained.
They even began to questioning why they didn’t just stay in Egypt...
Because Egypt was easier.
It was familiar.
At one point, the Israelites are complaining because they are sick of eating mana and want meat instead. They start to fantasize about the way they used to eat and live in Egypt.
“If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost...”
-Numbers 11:5
At no cost?! ...Besides slavery, right?
Isn’t it weird how us humans do this sometimes??
God helps us get out of a unhealthy relationship, circumstance or season of life.
But then things get hard..
And sometimes we start to remember and crave the old way of life.
Even though it was miserable.
We romanticize things from our past by focusing on what was “good” and forgetting the unhealthy and toxic parts.
“Maybe it wasn’t so bad..”
“At least back then I didn’t have to deal with this...”
“Why did I leave that for this?”
(And sometimes we actually end up going back to the unhealthy thing. Only to be reminded how bad it was.)
God gives us a way out of the destructive things in our life.
He really does.
But that certainly doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy peasy.
Part of getting to a healthier place in life is recognizing that the hardest part may not be leaving... it may be staying away.
I promise you, when you find freedom, the enemy will do everything in his power to make you want to go back.
Suddenly, that person who hurt you so much doesn’t seem so bad.
That way of life would feel really good right now.
That drug or that drink would really help you now.
Those friends might not be good influences, but it’s better than being alone.
It’s so tempting.
But like the Israelites, God has better in store for you.
But you might need to walk through some hard stuff to get there.
His promise isn’t that it will be easy, but He will get you there.
Because when He calls you out of something unhealthy, He always has restoration and redemption in mind.
He is the God who saves us from what we wouldn’t save ourselves from.
“But now the Lord Who made you, O Jacob, and He Who made you, O Israel, says, “Do not be afraid. For I have bought you and made you free. I have called you by name. You are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not flow over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The fire will not destroy you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, Who saves you.“
Isaiah 43: 1-3
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog