Living in Exile

Are you one of those people for whom everything in life just seems more difficult? We all have such areas of our lives, but some folks insist on making life difficult. They ignore the obvious lessons from other people’s lives and choose to learn the painful lessons of their own mistakes, often over and over again. Every day offers a fresh opportunity to make a new start, a chance for redemption and forgiveness and a better life. Yet, even with the promised land only a few steps away, we choose to wander in the wilderness. Much like the people of Israel, who God led out of bondage in Egypt. After they wandered in the wilderness for a time He brought them to the very brink of the promised land, but they were too stubborn and unfaithful to trust Him. This even after witnessing the Plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud, eating manna every day, and drinking water which miraculously flowed from the stones. These were God’s people, His chosen nation, heirs to the covenant with Abraham. Yet, they had not the staying power for one final step of faith. So they turned from the promised land and that entire generation perished in the wilderness. Is that our fate? We struggle with relationships. We destroy our marriages and families. We retreat into all manner of addictions. We ignore our health. We turn away from God. Again and again, we choose some sort of self-imposed wilderness when something far better is often well within our grasp. Are you living in a wilderness, or do you know someone else who is? It doesn’t have to be that way. Life doesn’t have to be that difficult. Much as it was for the people of Israel, a better life may be just a few faithful steps away. We merely have to turn aside from destructive behaviors and poor choices and towards better ones. That is the first step. Clearly it may be followed by many more difficult steps, but every journey begins with a single step in the right direction ... a step of faith, if you will. Are you willing to take such a step? The promised land is waiting, and it’s just across the river.

Living in Exile
God’s people wandered in the wilderness
As so many of us have done
Trudging through the desert
Beneath the blazing sun
He could have brought them to Canaan
A generation earlier
But they refused to learn their lesson
So He left them to endure
Those stubborn, stiff-necked people
So very much like you and me
Who grow accustomed to the wilderness
Because we fail to see
That God has something better
And He’s reaching out His hand
To guide us from the wilderness
And into the promised land
But will we take it, do we listen?
Foolish children that we are
We haven’t the faith to carry on
Believing it’s just too hard, too far
So we choose to live in exile
Turning from the Jordan each day
Unwilling to claim the promised land
When it’s only a few steps away
By Frank Carpenter ©