Egypt. Standing in the fridge looking at what I was going to eat at 3am after a day of self control and working out…. my eating habits were spiraling out of control and my self control went right out the window. Why am I standing in the fridge looking for food at 3am…there is no possible way I am actually hungry. But that’s what happens…we are tempted (by whatever it is in your life), we cry out to the Lord and he sets you free from something (overeating, drugs, porn, gossiping) BUT when temptations come our way, or things don’t go the way we want… we GO RIGHT BACK TO IT our old ways, we go right back to Egypt.

THIS reminds me of a story in the bible… The story of Moses leading his people to the Promised LandIt’s hard to believe that the children of Israel, freed from their Egyptian captors, were TEMPTED to go back to their bondage in Egypt. Their journey was not an easy one…so many obstacles and challenges. Their leader, Moses, reminded them of God’s promise to protect and provide for them. But all the Israelites could do was complain and thought they would be better off living their old life in Egypt….through their journey they QUICKLY forgot how terrible their life was in Egypt and they QUICKLY forgot about the Promised Land the Lord had in store for them.

Unbelievable right? Why would someone want to go back to the thing that enslaved them. Why would you want to go back to what the Lord has SET YOU FREE FROM?! The Lord delivered them, he has DELIVERED YOU and he’s still delivering people today. When temptations come our way we are quick to resort back to what gives us earthly satisfaction, when we don’t get the results we want we blame other people and want to quit. We cry out to God, he delivers us, and then in a desperate attempt we cave and give in. Are we willing to push through, rely on the Lord and believe him and his PROMISE?

I’ve struggled for a long time with getting up in the middle of the night and eating. I’ve cried out to God, and in an audible voice he told me I was delivered. BUT sometimes, I still find myself standing, looking, and craving food in the middle of the night. The Lord has strengthened me, and when I feel the temptation start to rise I have two choices. GO BACK to my old way of doing things, or stand in the face of that temptation and tell it WHO I AM and WHO I BELONG TO. The children of Israel so badly wanted to escape the chains of slavery and their life in Egypt. They cried out to God. We can do the same. You are not at the mercy of your old habits…and if you continually fall into that trap, have you fully given it to the Lord? When you receive Jesus as your savior he equips us, prepares us and fill us with his HOLY SPIRIT. Alone we are nothing, but with his spirit we can TURN, build new habits and REFUSE TO GO BACK TO EGYPT.