Craig Thomas

In Psalm 108 David praises God for giving him the assurance of victory over his enemies. He begins by pledging that his “heart is steadfast” (v. 1) as he sings praises to God for His “mercy” (v. 4), “truth” (v. 4), and deliverance/ salvation (v. 6). David rejoices as he recognizes that only God can give him the victory since “the help of man is useless” (vv. 10-13).

This is such an important lesson for us to learn as we daily battle Satan and sin. We can only gain the victory over sin through Jesus Christ. The apostle John makes this keen observation in 1 John 5:4-5:

“ 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

The problem arises in that our faith is not always what it should be. It is reminiscent of the children of Israel when they left Egypt. As they approached the Red Sea, they were positive, if not downright gung-ho. They were giddy with excitement at the promise of freedom. The text says, “the children of Israel went out with boldness” (Ex. 14:8). However, when they turned and saw the Egyptians pursuing them, they sang a totally different tune! (Ex. 14:10):

“ 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.”

Then they turned on Moses and accused him (and by extension, the LORD!) of taking them “away to die in the wilderness” (Ex. 14:11). They moaned and groaned about how good life was in Egypt (Ex. 14:12), when nothing could have been further from the truth!

We often do the same thing. Living the Christian life requires us to “put to death the deeds of the body” (Rom. 8:13). Paul even goes so far as to describe this as a crucifixion (Gal. 5:24). Why? It is extremely hard and painful to leave our old life behind. It is the hardest, most painful thing we will ever do! When Christ calls on us to live for Him it is easy to long for the “good ole days” when we lived for self. That’s what the Israelites were doing as the Egyptians bore down upon them. They forgot the former hardship of Egypt; they forgot the Egyptians “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Ex. 1:14; KJV). We forget the same truth about our own lives and bad habits before we became a Christian. To return there is not the answer! We view it with delight and longing when, in fact, it is a return to bitterness and “hard bondage.”

When temptations press in upon us, we must resist going back to our own personal Egypt. The response of the LORD to the Israelites on the shore of the Red Sea is very instructive. Moses tried to reassure them in Exodus 14:13-14:

“ 13 And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

That sounds like good advice to me. However, quite amazingly, the LORD didn’t think so! Instead “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward!’” Don’t stand there wringing your hands and talking about it. It’s time to act! It’s time to press forward! It’s time to be positive! It’s time to do the right thing!

There is an old saying that goes, “There’s a time to fish and a there’s a time to cut bait.” At the Red Sea, the time for cutting bait was past! Similarly, when we are tempted to go back to our old lives of sin, sorrow, bondage, and misery we shouldn’t look back on it with fondness. We need to recognize and remember how miserable it was. Instead we must act! We must “go forward”! We must not look back on our own personal Egypt with longing eyes, but “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). Going back to Egypt should never be an option!

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Rom. 13:14)