One of my favorite movies made in the 60s is called The
Great Escape. It was based on a true
story of WWII prisoners of war that planned and executed a brilliant and daring
escape. What intrigued me most about
this story was the way the men worked together and patiently did their own
personal part in order to accomplish their plan. And most of them did it for
the benefit of others; many were not able physically to participate.
The Bible also tells of a great escape. It is probably the greatest breakout attempt
of all human history. Commonly known as
the Exodus, the Israelites escaped from Egypt (the most powerful nation in the
world) in a very daring way.
What a grand sight it must have been to see that mass of
people walking away from 400+ years of slavery!
How excited they must have been to finally be free. What a tremendous victory their God had just
provided for them at the hands of the greatest nation on earth. Through His Spirit, God proved beyond any
doubt who the greatest force in the universe really was.
But it wasn’t long until the people lost patience (and faith) and
fear took over:
Trapped between the Sea and Pharaoh's
army! Now how were they to escape? Thirsty in a barren land! Did God forget to
have them bring water?
No food! Hungry people get mean don’t they?
The mountain is on fire! What’s become of
our leader?
Those people are BIG! We’re not strong
enough to face them!
Yet God, through His
Spirit, delivered them from all of their problems:
Crossing the Sea on dry ground!
Water from a rock!
What’s Manna? And all I have to do is pick
it up off the ground?
Moses shows up and we need God to forgive
us!
Forty years of wandering, yet God routed our
enemies before us!
The Exodus event was a foreshadowing of the next Great Escape:
the liberation of souls from their bondage to sin. Jesus began the opening
salvos of this epic battle by His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection
three days later. And God’s Spirit is leading, and guiding the souls that have
been redeemed by His blood to finish their quest with ultimate victory.
So how do you think this
great escape will turn out? How many do
you think are going to make it to the next Promised Land (Heaven)? Sadly, we’re told that only a few will follow
the Spirit to the end. Most will lose faith and be too discouraged to continue
on. Don’t let that happen to you: don’t
die in this earthly wilderness.
The God who orchestrated the first Great Escape is also
orchestrating the next and ultimate one. His Spirit has provided the sacrifice
and power of resurrection from death in Jesus, and promises to do the same for
you (Romans 8:12). There’s no need to guess, and wonder, and fret, and worry.
God guarantees that you have been justified freely by Jesus’ blood (Romans
3:24) through your baptism into Him (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27), that you
have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and that His
Spirit is within you to guide you to the ultimate victory – eternal life with
Him.
So hold on. Persevere.
Take courage and fear not. Follow the Spirit and be assured of a blessed life
both now and forever more in God’s holy and loving presence.
Doug
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