Going Down to Egypt

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horseman, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord. (Isaiah 31:1) These are the words penned by the prophet Isaiah. They describe Israel’s reliance on Egypt, who represented wealth, false security, prosperity, and human wisdom. The Israelites had a history of trusting the Lord and then finding their security in other gods. At one time, they found their security in Egypt. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt where they had been enslaved, they quickly began to complain and wished they were back in Egypt.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of depending on ourselves or other people for our security. We can depend on our money, our position, or our power which leads us farther and farther away from our dependence on God. All of these things can enslave us. My husband often tells me that we need to be careful that our possessions don’t possess us. We also need to be careful to trust in the Lord with all of our heart and to be utterly dependent on Him. The Israelites began to trust in the strength and resources of Egypt, and the Lord warned them that this would lead to bondage.

Do you trust the Lord completely or do you depend on your wisdom, your job, and your abilities to fulfill you? Every time you lean on yourself and away from God, you will find yourself back in Egypt, a place of slavery.

Freedom is found in complete dependence and trust in God.

Heavenly Father,

Take me out of my personal “Egypt” – the place where I do not seek You – the place where I trust in myself and my own abilities. Every time I find myself in this place, I only know loneliness and despair. I choose to trust and depend on You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen