Have you ever been on Stuck Avenue? You know...it's where Rock Road and Hard Place Lane meet. Stuck.... Kind of hard to get out of there in our own strength or power isn't it. Seems to me that life is about power. Power to navigate the traps and snares. Power to simply make it through the day, and get back home before nightfall. Power to keep an even keel to our emotions and not do any more damage than we have in the past. Life is about Power.
So what Power are you relying on?
What Power is it that fuels you to move through life?
Where do you look for answers to pour over the questions that seem to flood your mind and heart?
Great analogy in Scripture.
Saw it this morning.
Isaiah 30:1-2
"What sorrow awaits my rebellious children," says the Lord. "You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh's protection. You have tried to hide in his shade."
You may be asking yourself, "Hey..what's the big deal? Israel needed help and they took the initiative and went and found someone who would help them." Problem is, Israel rejected God in favor of Egypt's help. Egypt was where they were in slavery for over 400 years. They sought to put themselves back under that authority that had wielded a whip hand to their backs. They had turned to the one place that God had delivered them from. They turned back to their old ways of thinking and doing.
Now as crazy as this may seem, sin/addiction will work the same number on you, if you don't watch yourself. When we reject God (even in the slightest way) we begin to rely on our own strength and ability. What does our strength and ability have a tendency to say...."Man, you need to get high"...."Man, you need to get drunk"....."Man, you need to get tore up from the floor up." Oh, that might not be the words that come to our mind, but believe me the translation of what we do hear is exactly that. Run back to the one thing that you know will help you." Oh, it will help you alright. Help you die. Help you go to jail. Help you lose your family. Help you lose everything God has given you. Maybe we need to start referring to addiction and the old way of living as "EGYPT" just to remember who was actually in control, and running the show.
You don't have to stay stuck.
You don't have to live between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Here is a good quote from the notes found in the Recovery Bible about this passage from Isaiah. "Egypt can symbolize for us all those things we turn to for relief from our pain: work, sex, alcohol, drugs, food, unhealthy relationships. They look good, like the mighty chariots mentioned in Isaiah 31:1, but their help is an illusion. Only God can bring us true deliverance."
I guess that is the question this morning?
Are we (me included) willing to trust God with everything?
Or are we going to pick and choose what we will turn over to His care?
Seems to me that we need to rid ourselves of the entire package, and breath in the free air that accompanies His directives and instructions.
Why not today?
It's as good a time as any.
God on you....
mbb
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