Can't Go Back to Egypt

I know it hasn’t been long since I referenced this song, but the theme does come up often. I was chatting with one of my EMBARK girls last night. She mentioned that it was the first time she understood why the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt. I smiled because I am familiar with the feeling.

God is doing some big things in her life right now. However, they are hard things. All she can see at the moment is the sand and the elements and the lack of food. She can’t see the Promised Land yet and it is going to take lots of hard work to get there. No matter what was awful about Egypt, at least it was known. What is coming is completely unknown and it feels like there are no guarantees it is going to be better than where she came from.

Our conversation instantly reminded me of the Sara Groves song, Painting Pictures of Egypt, I have quoted before.

Verse 1: I don't want to leave here

I don't want to stay

It feels like pinching to me

Either way

And the places I long for the most

Are the places where I've been

They are calling out to me

Like a long lost friend

Verse 2: It's not about losing faith

It's not about trust

It's all about comfortable

When you move so much

And the place I was wasn't perfect

But I had found a way to live

And it wasn't milk or honey

But then neither is this

Chorus: I've been painting pictures of Egypt

Leaving out what it lacks

The future feels so hard

And I want to go back

But the places that used to fit me

Cannot hold the things I've learned

Those roads were closed off to me

While my back was turned

Verse 3: The past is so tangible

I know it by heart

Familiar things are never easy

To discard

I was dying for some freedom

But now I hesitate to go

I am caught between the Promise

And the things I know

Chorus: I've been painting pictures of Egypt

Leaving out what it lacks

The future feels so hard

And I want to go back

But the places that used to fit me

Cannot hold the things I've learned

Those roads were closed off to me

While my back was turned

Bridge: If it comes to quick

I may not appreciate it

Is that the reason behind all this time in sand?

And if it comes to quick

I may not recognize it

Is that the reason behind all this time in sand?

It is easy to get caught between the Promise and the things we know and can see right now. It is hard to risk for something that has no guarantee of success. It is hard to take God at His Word. And it is the only option. There is no going back. The old place doesn’t exist anymore. So we can sit down in the desert or we can keep walking toward Jesus. I am thrilled to see her and others choosing to leave Egypt behind, keep walking through the wilderness, and anticipate the Promised Land.