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| Palace Living |
Remember the old TV show “I Dream of Jeanie?” Suppose you were
Larry Hagman’s character, Major Anthony Nelson. You’ve found the magic lamp and
the genie has given you three choices of where you can live:
- A palace
- The desert
- The wilderness
Don’t get too comfortable. J
Now the genie reveals you must
leave your first choice and pick from the other two. This is actually
where you’ll live.
Not fair?
“One
day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and
watched them at their hard labor…Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in
Midian.” Exodus 2:11, 15b.
Moses spent four decades in Pharaoh’s
palace, enjoying Egypt’s finest things. He was educated by top scholars,
outfitted in royal clothes, and ate delicacies enjoyed by the elite.
What happened to change this?
Between the time Moses stepped
out to watch his people and the time he fled, he killed an Egyptian. He alone
created a situation in which he had no choice but to flee. However, based on
the anger that flared inside of him and prompted the killing, he’d already
chosen sides.
Leaving
the palace was inevitable.
We don’t know what inspired Moses
to step outside the palace and watch the Hebrew slaves work. Perhaps it was
something he did routinely. Maybe God had been dealing with Moses’ heart about
his destiny. Or he was simply restless. He was forty years old at the time. Whatever
Moses’ personal reasons for jeopardizing his elite position, God had prepared
him for leadership by allowing him to grow up under Pharaoh.
After forty years in the Midian desert,
Moses returned to lead the Israelites out of captivity. God’s perfect will
included Moses leading his people from Egypt to the Promised Land. God’s permissive
will allowed Moses and everyone else involved to make choices that ultimately
led to their demise.
Despite the Israelites’
disobedience, God’s objective was met—and
never doubt this will happen—it always happens regardless of our disobedience. But those involved didn’t reap the
harvest because they didn’t obey God with their whole heart.
Although Moses was barred from
entering the earthly Promised Land, we see in Matthew 17:3, he did indeed make
it to the eternal one. While our sin does not always directly connect to our
hardships and trials, the original sin in the Garden of Eden does. God is a patient
God, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, we must tolerate
this fallen world until He deems it time to bring believers into the new heaven
and new earth.
Most of us have never lived in a
palace. But if we were to reflect on our life, especially in this country, we
can see the times we resided metaphorically in each of these three places.
Sometimes we’re forced from the
palace by life events. God calls some of us to leave our comfort zones to go
into the wilderness.
Jesus spent time in the
wilderness, most notably after a joyous event—his baptism. John the Baptist
made his home in the wilderness.
However we manage to arrive in
the desert or wilderness, if we spend our time searching for the path to
the earthly palace, we fail to learn the lesson derived from dwelling
in the desert or wilderness. Because God's intention is to grow and strengthen us for His work.
Next week, we’ll talk about how
God meets us in the tough places. Meanwhile, never forget—
God
dwells with us in all circumstances!
What is your wilderness? If you’d
like prayer, please email me or leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Your experience could be an inspiration to others struggling, as well, so
please share, if you feel led.
Please remember our permanent
prayer list, as well as Sgt. Jesse’s McCart’s updates above. We have several folks
battling cancer. Would you take a moment to lift them up in prayer?
This is what it is to be loved and to
know
That the promise was when
everything fell
We’d be held
Praise God for always holding us
in His hands!
God bless,
Laura
© Laura Hodges Poole
