Over the Easter weekend, the kids and I watched the 3.5 hour epic 1950s film, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston. It portrays the story of Moses from birth to his death. I remember watching it is a child with my parents, and of course, I subjected my kids to this fond memory of mine.
What struck me in watching it all these years later, was one scene where Israel leaves by the hundreds and thousands out of the land of Egypt into the wilderness. They are excited for the land flowing with milk and honey but they have no idea what is ahead of them. For the administrator in me, it looks like an organizational nightmare. But besides that, I was struck with how their leaving Egypt reflected my own story.
The Israelites expected to find the promised land soon after they left Egypt.
So did I.
The Israelites followed their deliverer Moses out of captivity and they thought their troubles were over.
That is what I had hoped for.
Their journey soon led them to confront their unbelief and habitual complaining, because life did not go the way they expected.
That is what happened to me.
Leaving Egypt, led them directly into the presence of the living God.
That is where leaving Egypt led me.
Why would I be thinking of this on Easter and writing about this in a financial blog?
Because I want you to hear this one thing.
Leaving Egypt is only the beginning.
Leaving the land of financial enslavement – where you may or may not be sunk in debt, where you love the enticements of the world that really bring you ZERO long-term fulfilment – is only the beginning of your journey.
You long to be free of the slavery. And just like the prodigal son returning home, you just want the pain and hardship to go away. So you call out to God. He hears. He remembers His promises. He responds and shows you the way out. You meet the deliverer – Jesus. You start following Him.
In financial, practical terms that means going to a Financial Fitness Seminar, or doing a financial bible study through your church, or having a meeting with a financial coach at More Than Enough, or studying the financial principles laid out in the Bible. You make plans. Dig a little deeper into your relationship with Christ. You re-start something you have perhaps forgotten, finding truths about His provision and care. You head out on the journey of balanced budgets and spending plans. You are excited to be headed in a new direction that offers promise and hope.
However, it may be days or weeks or months later.
You can’t find water. The food is less than appealing. You can’t stop at Tim’s for that coffee or buy those boots. You choose not to face the truth, and you throw that new couch on your Visa card. Your desire for earthly things that can be destroyed by rust and moth has not completely vanished simply because you walked out of Egypt. In fact, you start to realize that Egypt is still clinging to you.
You left Egypt but it hasn’t left you.
It would take too many words here to tell you my whole story. But let me just say that once I left my own Egypt, I went into a land of unbelief and complaining. I thought, or at least I had hoped, I would find the promised land of safety, plenty and security “just around the corner.”
Instead of finding what I wanted, I found what I needed:
Repentance from unbelief and complaining.
A deeper relationship of daily trust in my Father.
Contentment with what I have because He is with me.
Joy
Peace.
His presence.
I am still learning these things at deeper and deeper levels, but His presence in my life is the most profound.
When the Israelites left Egypt, their complaining and bad attitudes left them wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. We can stay in the wilderness too, much longer than we need to, if we cling to the ways of Egypt, instead of trusting and obeying the Lord. It doesn’t need to take us 40 years.
So this is my encouragement to you.
When you leave Egypt, or when you leave your financial pit, remember that leaving is just the beginning. You have a journey ahead of you. But what you find on that journey will be exactly what you need, and what you need is exactly enough.
Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, not simply for the land flowing with milk and honey. He led them to experience the presence of the living God. And that is exactly what you will find, if you are aware and patient with the process He has for you.
May your financial journey lead you back again and again into the Father’s hands.
Rebecca van Noppen is a teacher, home educator, writer, intercessor, and More Than Enough blogger, who happens to be married to a financial coach. A lover of Jesus, she is on a journey of surrender, kindness, and generosity.