Anyone who’s seen the classic Cecil B. DeMille’s movie, ‘Ten Commandments’ will relate to what I’m going to portray; the torture, the whipping, the cruelty, the bullying that the Israelites were undergoing under the hands of the Egyptians, till a prince named Moses, rescued them, with God’s help, and took them away from all that oppression.
But all that the children of Israel did, was complain of those, ‘wonderful’ times, being slaves! All this while God, gave them veg and non-veg to eat, and even as God gave them spring water from a rock.
Till God, decided that what they needed was ‘forty years in the wilderness’
Forty years when God just wanted His people to be alone with Him.
I believe that’s what’s happening to us today, maybe, and I can’t be sure about that, maybe it won’t be forty years, it maybe just a year or two, when He above just wants you to be alone with Him!
And yet we complain:
“Lord,” cried the people who were being fed day and night, “We miss our homes in Egypt!”
“Lord!” we shout, “We miss the traffic jams and the heartburn we suffered everyday as we tried to get to office in time!”
“God!” cried the Jews as they followed the pillar of fire by day, and the cloud by night, “God,” cried the Jews, even as they knew that the fire and the cloud, showed that God was moving with them everyday, right in their midst, “We miss the whip that tore our flesh when we worked slower!”
“God,” we cry even as we work from home, “We miss the office politics, having our bosses look over our shoulders, and criticizing us for always walking to the coffee machine!”
For four hundred years the Jews had lived in the land of the Egyptians, longing for the land God had promised for them, and all they did, as God took them there, was complain.
For all our working days, we have longed for days when we could put up our legs at home, and now when we can, we long for the days when our feet were weary!
They saw the parting of the Red Sea, and yet they did not believe.
We see miracles everyday, in small and big incidents, even being alive in this pandemic, and yet we do not believe!
Let us think of this lockdown as one when God is saying, “Get closer to me, learn about me, so that when this pandemic ends, you will be known as my child! Let’s get to know one another!”
You may not get forty years like the Israelites got, so spend every moment with Him, instead of talking of the old wonderful world, because it wasn’t so very wonderful, but can be, after this small ‘wandering stint’ with God..!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Very true
Nice thoughts
So true: this certainly is a time for repentance and change from the mundane and the evil to the true nature of God. Draw me nearer nearer to Thy precious bleeding side.
Wonderful thoughts Bob. The world was going out of control and becoming unmanageable hence the incidents that are a happening is a call to repentance. Yes there are people who prefer slavery to freedom, as wheat and weeds grow together, there comes a time to separate them.
Yes well depicted, this a time of submission;rather than, retaliat and try fight our own battle surrender completely to HIM ,
God will take care of all of us
Wounderful remainder to be with the lord…
Yes , this is not lockdown time, it is quiet time with our Lord.
‘Old Wonderful World’ was really going out of control and we were trying to control it thinking we are doing everything on our own strength..now the God who controls everything has taken over and made us come to our senses ‘Be still and know that I am God’ so let us rest in His presence..
‘Old Wonderful World’ was really going out of control and we were trying to control it thinking we are doing everything on our own strength..now the God who controls everything has taken over and made us come to our senses ‘Be still and know that I am God’ so let us rest in His presence..
‘Old Wonderful World’ was really going out of control and we were trying to control it thinking we are doing everything on our own strength..now the God who controls everything has taken over and made us come to our senses ‘Be still and know that I am God’ so let us rest in His presence..
‘Old Wonderful World’ was really going out of control and we were trying to control it thinking we are doing everything on our own strength..now the God who controls everything has taken over and made us come to our senses ‘Be still and know that I am God’ so let us rest in His presence..
‘Old Wonderful World’ was really going out of control and we were trying to control it thinking we are doing everything on our own strength..now the God who controls everything has taken over and made us come to our senses ‘Be still and know that I am God’ so let us rest in His presence..
Looks like God wanted to emphasize Celia’s message. Therefore, We need to read it five times over for it to sink in ! Truly, an amazing God
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Beautiful comparison of the complaining nature of man instead of human beings counting God’s blessings with that of the Israelites who expressed ingratitude towards our good God who guards us.
This pandemic is a ” blessing in disguise” inasmuch it has given us an opportunity to bring about the change within us that we were always thinking about doing…(1) we are learning patience, (2) we are learning to do without the many things we once thought were necessities, (3) we are finding that going on a shopping spree at the malls is not really necessary, (4) we are learning to buy just what we need, (5) we are learning to be still and alone with the Lord, (6) we are beginning to once again pick up our talents/hobbies lying dormant so long as we had no time for them…..yes this pandemic is bringing about a change in us both inwardly and outwardly as also in our relationship with God as we make our homes mini churches inviting HIM in our midst and worshipping HIM as a family together.
The realistic comparison to the present situation.