Hebrews 2:11-22  As night withdrew, the royal son of Egypt, the pharaoh-elect stood waiting for the god of the day to cast her warm beams upon the "Garden of the World." Before him glistened the thousand-year-old pyramids of Giza, cased in white limestone and polished to a mirror-like finish. Under the dancing rays of the rising sun, they took on the appearance of gigantic prisms strategically placed in the ever drifting sands. The symmetry of the pyramids was identical and perfect. Each of their finely honed sides sloped at the same precise trigonometric angle of slightly more than 51 degrees. The striking figure of the prince was no less commanding than the grand objects in the distance. It seemed that all the gods of Egypt had set their seal upon him. He was a man born to rule, a man created for dominion over men. Upon his head was placed a rich cap of green silk, the front of which was shaped like a hawk, the symbol of Horus. The eyes of the hawk blazed with diamonds. It's plumage was studded with the precious stones of beryl and onyx. His jacket was of fine linen embroidered with gold. Around his neck hung a collar of red-hued gold. His broad chest was covered by a breastplate of armour. On it's centre sparkled an emerald name plate bearing in hieroglyphics the name of MOSES, Egypt's future king. He buckled on his jewelled sword and put on his close-fitting helmet of burnished gold. Moses looked like an Egyptian god of war. He strode past the lush green foliage of his spacious courtyard to his waiting chariot. He was oblivious to the fact that before the sun finished this day's journey across the sky his world would crash around him. His reign as Egypt's prince would be finished. The elegant prince, the future king of the world's greatest and oldest empire would have blown it. Moses was Egypt's military commander. As prince and successor to the pharaoh, he was acknowledged to be the first priest of the realm, destined upon his succession to the throne to become a god. In Acts 7:22 we read, "Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians....." He had been schooled in the Harvard of the ancient world, the temple of the sun. He studied the sciences, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, medicine, philosophy and law. He was trained in the arts, music, sculpture and painting. But for all his power, prestige, wealth and knowledge, Moses had a problem. Like many 39 year old men, he was thinking more and more about ultimate life purposes. Why was the son of Hebrew slaves second in command in Egypt? Why was he feeling so much compassion for the Hebrew slaves? Why was the glamour of Egypt's throne being overshadowed by his attraction to the God of the Hebrews his true kinsman? Why the intense feelings of animosity with-in him as the unwarranted oppression of the Hebrews continued? As he lay on his bed at night Moses knew he was losing his will to oppress these Hebrews.
From his chariot Moses surveyed the newest construction site. He watched the angry Egyptian taskmasters whipping his kinsman. Up close he could see the rising red welts from the lash on the backs of the young boys and girls, the old men and old women. Looking deep into their eyes, he could see the soul of his brother's and sisters.
He could see the anguish and the pain and the weariness and the hopelessness of a people whose only crime was that they existed. In the distance Moses saw a young man emerge from behind a stack of bricks. He was crawling on hands and knees - writhing in pain as he attempted to dodge the lacerating blows raining down on his skeletal frame. The taskmaster grinned the fiendish grin of sadistic cruelty as he continued to beat upon that hideous looking mass of bloody flesh. Moses forgot that he was Moses. He forgot that he was the prince of Egypt, the pharaoh elect.
In a moment of unbridled rage he struck the Egyptian then wrapped his strong right arm around the taskmasters neck. He flexed his bulging muscles until the taskmaster went limp in his arms, and slumped lifelessly to the ground. Moses had killed an Egyptian to save the life of a slave. Soon Pharaoh would be seeking Moses arrest. Shortly, Moses would flee for his life to the wastelands of Midian. For 40 years he would be asking, "Where was God when I blew it? He would have 40 years to learn that we usually lose touch with God when we wilful jump into life's tight corners" One night my wife and I didn't fall asleep when our heads hit the pillows. We talked about some of the ways I have blown it. I was amazed at the vividness and clarity of recall of the details of the ways that I have blown it. Blowing it is a painful humiliating experience that is difficult for us to come to terms with. I can still feel the knife in my soul, only the bitterness is gone. In those moments of recall, I still grieve the loss of potential and opportunity that are gone forever. Sonia said, "One good thing is that you are able to be patient and understanding with our people when they blow it. Yes that's true honey, and I wonder if the people will believe me when I tell them that "We lose touch with God when we wilful jump into tight corners" Some of you who are reading this message have the feeling that you have blown it. You have the sense that you have lost the best part of your life. A lot of questions whirl around in your mind. Questions like: How could God let me fail? Is there anything left to recover? Is it worth the effort to recover? Will I ever stop grieving my loss? Some of you have never blown it in a big way. You've never felt the painful knife of failure slash your soul. Therefore, you're not asking these questions, and you can't understand people who ask them. You can't understand why a simple prayer to God asking Him for forgiveness and help isn't sufficient to close the old book and begin the new book. Perhaps God is asking you to sit in a tight corner with someone who has blown it. Don't go with answers tied in cellophane with a pretty bow. Go and discover what it's like to be squeezed into a tight corner. Sit in silence and feel what they feel, hurt where they hurt until you feel the loss, the hopelessness, the despair, the sense of shame, the confinement, the anger, the disappointment, the insecurity of life in a tight corner. Until you feel those emotions you won't be able to be part of the solution. You see, it's possible that one day you'll blow it. Then you to will discover how we lose touch with God when we wilful jump into tight corners. There are two important lessons about life in tight corners that we need to learn. LESSON ONE: Many Tight Corners Are Spaces We Design And Build By Our Own Actions. Read Exodus. 2:11-15. Impulsive, rash, spontaneous action can land us in some real tight corners. Some people are by nature quick. Bang, they make a decision and go for it. Friends, relatives and associates spend 20 years picking up the pieces. We act without asking and speak without thinking. WHAM! We're in a tight corner desperately in need of a spiritual and emotional first aid attendant. The tight corner was all our own making and there's no hope of escape until we take ownership of it and begin the necessary disciplines to correct the underlying problems that got us into the tight corner. This incident in Moses' life gives us insight into Moses character. It was a positive character quality landed Moses in the wilderness? It was his keen sense of fairness. He stood against injustice. He took the side of the weaker members of that society. His downfall was the fact that he took justice into his own hand instead of leaving it in the hands of divinely appointed authority. Moses discovered the same thing all of us have discovered, the best intentions in the world won't keep us out of tight corners. Remember, God doesn't force us into the tight corner. It wasn't His plan for us to blow it. It's hard to own the fact that we made the tight corner that we jumped into. Thus we must take the first step to get out. That brings us to the second important lesson about life in tight corners is LESSON TWO: Tight Corners Send Many People Into An Emotional Wasteland.
What do you do in an emotional wasteland of your own making? You can spend the time feeling sorry for yourself. You could spend the days and years justifying your actions. You might spend the time naval gazing. You could give-up on your dreams and vegetate or continue to dream about what could one day be. I don't know how Moses responded to his new role in life. "Moses, you are no longer number two in Egypt, you are at the bottom of the heap in the wilderness, a nobody, a nothing." What does a person stuck in a tight corner think about? I was in that position for nearly 18 years. Do you know what I thought about? I thought about what might have been. I thought about what it would cost to get where you should be. I dreamt of becoming what God called me to be. I tried to make the best of a second best situation but eventually I began to lose my spiritual motivation. I discovered that we lose touch with God when we wilful jump into tight corners. (Read Exodus. 2:21,22)
Moses lost his motivation to get up and try again. Years in a tough situations wear us down. Somebody sold us the fantasy that life should be easy. Life isn't easy, life is hard. It's hard because the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful process. The process involves frustration, grief, sadness, loneliness, guilt, regret, anger, fear, anxiety, anguish and despair. And since life poses an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and full of pain as well as joy. Yet it is in the process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguish between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage, wisdom and faith. Many people are content to wallow in their problems, content to finish the rest of their days in their wilderness. This happens because we lose touch with God when we wilful jump into tight corners. Many Christians are content to live selfish lives in their spiritual wilderness. They try to blame God for what they call a "bad stroke of luck." It wasn't that at all. The problem was that they didn't believe the preacher when he said, "We lose touch with God when we wilful jump into tight corners." CONCLUSION:
Where is God when I blow it? God is where He always is. He's waiting for me in my waste land of despair. He's waiting for me in my desert land of barrenness. He's waiting for me at the bottom of the heap. Why is God waiting for me? He's waiting to hear me say, "I'm sorry, I have sinned, please forgive me for rejecting your way and going my own way. Forgive me for the hurt I've caused so may people by walking in my own way. God's waiting to hear me say, "Please take my hand and lead me out of this tight corner?" Jesus will jump into your tight corner with you. He'll hold your hand and give you the strength and support you need to work your way out of your problem. He'll give you wisdom so you don't repeat the cycle. Jesus will open your eyes to new possibilities. You'll see opportunities you never saw before. But none of that will happen for you if you don't meet with Him in the morning. You'll miss it all if you're to pre-occupied to talk with Him during the day. Begin your journey out of your tight corner today. You know what to do. What's holding you back? Be sure to read the next message in the life of Moses titles, "Facing the Humiliation of Personal Defeat." |
Failure
