Numbers 11:5–6: “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

January 21st, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

How quickly the Israelites had forgotten what their fish and tossed salads had cost them while they were in Egypt. They had paid by the sweat of their brows and the slave labor of their bodies, a payment they’d cried out to the Lord to deliver them from. And once He had delivered them, they cried over the “good things” they felt they’d left behind. The Israelites claimed they were starving and withering away in the desert, “Our whole being is dried up.” We must look just as stupid to the Lord when we want to go back to our own “Egypt.”

What is so appealing about returning to Egypt anyway? When we go back, the old man, the body of death that we are supposed to cut off or pluck out, is again in charge and we start demanding to have things our way. For our flesh, it is a well-known and comfortable place. We know how to act there, and in fact, we think we are pretty good at it. We no longer have to try to deny ourselves, and so our flesh quiets down, at least for a moment, though it will very quickly begin crying out for more, more, more.

So how do we find rest in our deliverance? Galatians 5:16 tells us to “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” Whenever we find ourselves looking longingly back to Egypt or wanting to take up full-time residence there, we have the guarantee that in that very moment we can ask and receive God’s grace. This truth is embedded in an Old Testament parallel verse, Leviticus 26:12, where God promises, “I will walk among you and be Your God, and you will be My people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” God the Holy Spirit is the Enabler, and He will give us what we need to walk with Him this day if we only ask and obey. When we consciously seek the things of the Spirit, our spirits will yield and our ungodly desires will subside.

“LORD I choose to walk by Your Spirit this day. I choose to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow you.”