Walk This Way - Inspired by Passover: the Journey from Slavery to Freedom

As we travel through life, we are constantly making transitions; leaving one place and going to another place.  From______________To________________.

From high school to college.  From sickness to health.  From single life to married life and sometimes back again.

If you take a look at your life right now, what are the transitions you are making?  What are you leaving and where are you going? 

Sometimes the transitions we make are necessary for our survival and transformation. We are leaving a slavery of some sort to move toward a better existence.

In the Biblical account of the Exodus, the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptian Empire.  In Hebrew, the word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which can be translated as narrow or straits.

From Mitzrayim, that narrow place, they cried out for deliverance.  Deliverance came, but it wasn't in the form of a helicopter rescue team that lifted them all to safety.

The deliverance required that they take action. They had to pack their belongings, leave everything that they knew (bad as it was), and venture out into the unknown.  They walked out...one faith-filled step at a time.

Do you see the themes here?  Can you imagine the courage?  The fear?  The resolve?

Now let's talk about you. 

What's your Mitzrayim?  What is your narrow place?

Perhaps you are in a confining circumstance, or a horrible relationship, bound by a destructive habit, or subjected to a constricted mindset.  Maybe you're just plain stuck!

Whatever your particular situation, being in the straits is daunting.  Sometimes you can't see a way out. 

Let's take a lesson from the Children of Israel.  How did they get out? 

1. Desire freedom (change) more than slavery (status quo).

The Israelites were tired of being tyrannized and trapped. They voiced their despair over their situation by crying for deliverance.  They wanted something different...no more tolerating...no more suffering!

Sometimes things have to get pretty bad to make us move.   We often have an indication when we're on a slippery slope, but it's usually not bad enough to ignite us...so we tolerate.  A crisis can actually be freedom's best friend.

2. Notice the opportunities when they arise.

When the opportunity for freedom showed up through Moses and the miraculous events, they realized that there was a window of opportunity and they had to take it in order to get out! 

In life, we may have many answers to prayers and many opportunities to make changes, but we just let them pass by.  We may be procrastinating, not ready, unwilling, stuck in a paradigm, or even unaware. 

3. Start walking...take action.

When Moses gave instructions to pack up and get out, they did!  This required a lot of energy and willingness to become uncomfortable for a while.  (Quite a long while, if you know the story). :-)

The constricted consciousness of Mitzrayim will tell you that it's too hard and you need to stay put.  You'll experience too much pain.  Fear of the unknown can be enough to keep you stuck and tolerating your misery.
 
To go from inaction to action requires courage, vision, belief that there is something beyond the horizon, start-up strength, and endurance to continue when you don't feel like it.

This season provides us all with a great opportunity to evaluate areas of our lives and make decisions to break out and begin the journey...one step at a time.