…and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? (Exodus 14:11, NLT)
As we walked off the 18th green, my friend said, “I tried the grip for four holes that Tom told me about yesterday. I was five over on those holes. I used my old grip on the other fourteen holes, and I was only three over for those holes.”
He continued, “Tom knows what he is talking about, and it’s surely a better grip. What do you think I should do?”
Though it would have been lost on him, what I wanted to say was, “So you want to go back to Egypt?”
The children of Israel had been living in Egypt for more than 400 years, many of those years as slaves. God sent Moses to deliver them from bondage and lead them to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
You can read all about the drama that unfolded in the first thirteen chapters of Exodus.
In Exodus 14, Pharaoh changes his mind, pursues the Israelites, and easily catches up to them. It is then that they grumble—for the first of several times—to Moses for not letting them die in Egypt.
We were studying Exodus in one of our Links Fellowships and felt a bit puzzled at the Hebrews for their grumbling. After all, they had seen God do amazing things, including their deliverance.
I then shared that God had called me to a work that was very challenging, full of unknowns, would cause me to leave a place of comfort, and that sometimes I really wanted to “go back.” It was a passionate speech!
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It’s a good analogy because it helps us understand that we often prefer comfort over advancement.
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After the Fellowship, David came up and said, “When you told us about wanting to go back, all I could think about was learning a new golf swing, then going to the pro for my next lesson, anxious to show him my improved play. When I did, he said, “That’s your old swing.”
“I guess I wanted to go back, too.”
It’s a good analogy because it helps us understand that we often prefer comfort over advancement.
The big difference, of course, is God’s leading. If he tells you to change your grip—whether on a golf club or on a job—you need to move forward.
One other hint: keep the grumbling down, and trust God. He will never lead you astray.
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Lewis Greer
Copyright 2022 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at linksplayers.com.