8 Months: A Guide to True North
I dipped my toes in the waters of recovery nearly 3 and a half years ago and, in that time, I’ve had a lot of setbacks. However, today (May 19th, 2020) marks 8 months of continuous sobriety from all mind-altering substances and pornography in my recovery journey. Like many of us battling addiction, I hit rock bottom many times. Though my journey never rendered me homeless, there was a time when the consequences of one bad decision seemed imminent. Seemingly stuck between the life I once lived and the one unknown, familiarity was appealing. The Israelites thought so too.
After the Lord strategically baited Pharaoh by instructing His people to encamp within the desert, falsely giving the impression God’s chosen people were confused and stuck, He does the miraculous. As Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops, begin to overtake the Israelites, embittered they cry out.
"11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Even though the appearance of utter destruction lay at hand, Moses instructs the people to stand firm and confidently declares their deliverance. Counterintuitively, he instructs them to be still so that the Lord may fight for them. Miraculously, the sun and stars are blotted out so that neither of the opposing sides encounters one another. With an ever-present enemy threatening enslavement once again, the Lord instructs His people to obey Him so that they may encounter Him. Their decision to obey the Lord paves the way for the waters of the Red Sea to be parted - but they didn’t know that.
Long before the exodus, the Israelites had not known God for quite some time. Worshiping the idols of Egypt, the God of Abraham was but a distant memory. But God, infinite in mercy and rich in compassion, hears the cries of the oppressed and justly responds. Desiring relationship with His people, He makes himself known through messengers and miracles. But first, they must heed His call. Their decision to obey His instruction was instrumental in their freedom because, in His instruction, there is freedom.
Despite our understanding, Exodus 14 describes the importance of obeying the Lord. Without comprehension, stuck in-between the life of slavery and one of liberty, the Israelites chose to follow an unknown God. Through relationship and incremental obedience, the people of Israel would inherit The Promised Land. However, they had a lot of setbacks along the way too; 40 years of wandering the desert, Babylonian exile, pagan rituals and idol worship, child sacrifice, incest, rape, pillaging, and murdering - then unjustly nailing the essence of creation, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to a tree.
At times, I’ve wanted to throw in the towel on my recovery. It seemed far too impossible, not only to avoid temptation but to pursue righteousness. Though the life of slavery/addiction I once knew beckons, Jesus invites me to dine at His table and to feast on His word. Wishing for my own miracle, the Lord gave me something better - Him. His instruction is better than the parting of the sea or bread for the multitude because He is the bread. He is the water (John 6:35). For me, the miracle isn’t in signs and wonders, it’s through intentionally spending time knowing Him. Sobriety is but only a byproduct of something far more miraculous: the ability to commune with The Creator.
“Sobriety is but only a byproduct of something far more miraculous: the ability to commune with The Creator. ”
If the Israelites wouldn’t have paused in the chaos of fleeing Egypt, they too would have missed out.
I am praying these lyrics over your life, addiction bows to Jesus!
They didn’t know the waters would part.
They didn’t know manna would fall or that their clothes wouldnt fall apart.
They didn’t know they would be able to cross the Jordan at flood stage raging waters, only to dry off and immediately fight the battle of Jericho.
They didn’t know those walls would fall down and they certainly didn’t know King Jesus would come - but little by little, inch by inch, they took ground.
They moved forward by listening and obeying God.
If you are stuck between a rock and hard place, that may be the best place to be. God does His best work there. The Israelites narrative testifies to this. My story testifies to this. Countless others I encounter testifies to this. The insanity cycle does not have to repeat. Egypt does not have to enslave us. We can experience freedom and find a new way to live. Instead of doing what you’ve always done, invite God into your life. Imagine knowing God in such a way that nothing else seems appealing.
In Your Corner,
Joshua