Freedom is Hard

And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

Deuteronomy 1:27 ESV

Shortly after graduating high school I remember having a pit in my stomach.

This pit stemmed from the realization that I was transitioning from the safety of my parents’ home to the uncertainty of my own life!

I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to handle college, a job, a wife, and especially a family. But of course, like millions of other young adults, I soon realized that though freedom is hard, and difficult choices are plentiful, this stage of freedom was exactly what I needed to continue growing.

Although growing up in 21st century America isn’t a perfect analogy to the people of Israel’s plight, we can draw a few similarities.

Firstly, we see in today’s passage that the Israelites blamed God for their current trouble.

Much like an immature child blaming others (namely parents) for their troublesome situations, the Israelites blamed God for the difficulty of conflict amidst their freedom.

Secondly, when God liberated His people from slavery in Egypt, their lives were no longer controlled by their oppressors and therefore no longer predictable.

Freedom is hard because we have to make our own decisions and bear the consequences of those decisions. We can’t shift blame for poor decision making or evade responsibility.

It can be easy to blame others for the situations we are in, or even God.

When hard times/decisions come our way, remember that God has either brought you to where you are, or can bring you through it.

Read through the book of Exodus and see how God continually provided for the Israelites.

Israel blamed God for almost every trouble they found themselves in. We, as the people of God, should not continue that pattern of spiritual adolescence!