Day Seven: Resisting Change
For us, the story of the Exodus begins with spiritual captivity, a time when the dreams of Canaan have been forgotten and we are immersed in the things of the world. The power of the hells, entering our minds through this lower level of natural appearance, can be so subtle in their rule that even our religious faith, in a sense, "sells itself" to Pharaoh. The hells say to us, "Yes, explore spirituality, go to church, but just don’t get any ideas that you are going to change your life."
Remaining in Egypt, content with the things of this world alone, has its pleasures and comforts. This is especially true when we are hardened and cynical about heavenly goals. The situation is complicated by the fact that we each have a spiritual history. We are spiritual beings. Our inner spiritual values can be compared to Moses’ relationship to his people and his homeland. We have nagging thoughts which tell us that those values could still be alive, that we should reach out and fight for them, that there are higher things to live for. On the other hand there is a fear of death. Like Moses, we can live under the fear that any major changes in our lives will result in failure and even in the death of those worldly things. It seems better to do nothing than to risk failure, or so Pharaoh convinces us.
Spiritual captivity is not just the life of materialism. We are constantly faced with forces that restrain us from true spiritual growth. Certain behavioral patterns can seem impossible to put away: "Every time I come home, I yell at my children. I can’t seem to do anything about it." Or we may find that certain habits plague us: "I can’t give up smoking." We may openly admit to spiritual apathy: "No, I just don’t have time for spiritual things. It has been months since I have looked to the Lord in His Word." Or we may have a fear of growth: "I can’t work on my friendships, because I may uncover issues that are too big for me to deal with."
We may be spiritually captive in only one area of our lives, while in other areas we are growing and well on our way back to Canaan. Parts of our lives may put us in Canaan right now, delighting in the joy of heavenly use and service, while parts are holding us back in Egypt, afraid of the commitment to change.
But sometimes change is easy. We find ourselves spiritually stagnating, and the Moses part of our mind goes to Mount Horeb and sees the Lord in the flame of the burning bush. (We explore this further in Week 2.) There, on the spiritual mountaintop, we are inspired by a heavenly goal or dream, and we go forth and do it. There are many spontaneous and immediately joyous moments in our lives when we feel the presence of the Lord’s love and guidance.
Times of spiritual captivity are a reality we must face. We have to see that we are captive and resolve to make a journey out of Egypt. Acknowledging the state of our captivity can be a beginning. If we are spiritually asleep, the Lord gives us the same command He gave the sleeping disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus says to us, "Watch and pray" (Matthew 26:41). If we watch our lives from the higher light of Divine truth, we will realize our need for a new journey. We will come to the point where we are willing to make the decision to leave Egypt.
Key Point: There are many ways that a person can be enslaved that do not involve natural or physical slavery. Mental, emotional and spiritual slavery present very real conflicts.
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