Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Words of Encouragement

If you are trying to reach a destination, would you take the road backwards, away from that destination?  No, well why then do we want to go back into conditions that we have been delivered from.

Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. - Numbers 14:3-5

Who is Leading? The Wrong Leader. The people of God became complainers and because of it, they wanted to give up on Moses' leadership.  However, it was not Moses they were really giving up on, they were giving up on God.  So in their complaining, they thought it might be better to go back into Egypt.  They thought to themselves, let us gather a new leader that will take us back to Egypt.

Do you know why Moses and Aaron feel facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly?  It was because of the foolishness of the people.  What they were saying in essence is this, "We will gather a leader that will take us back to the place of captivity, the place where we had been released from.  We will gather to ourselves a leader that will take us back."

They forgot about their complaints and how those complaints had been answered by God and how they had been released from captivity.  Now they wanted to go back.  Well, there is one that is ready and waiting to lead you back into slavery.  Slavery to sin, to lust, to disobedience and bondage.  When you complain and grumble about how God leads you, there is one that quickly waits to lead you back from whince you came.  That leader is the devil. He will gladly help you make your way back into captivity and further away from what God has promised for you.

Lord, help us today not to become foolish and look backwards and follow wrongly back into captivitiy.  Help us to move after you and away from that which will destroy.