Pain of the Journey

DAILY BYTE

Life moves on. Yesterday has come and gone – today lies before us. We move from one thing to the next and this all seems a natural part of our daily existence. Even as we discovered yesterday our spiritual heritage seems to be littered with examples of people who embarked upon various journeys. Cain wandered off restlessly, Abram moved to a new land in obedience to God and you and I will struggle to find peace until we rest in God’s grace.

In truth, the land flowing with ‘milk and honey’ will always seem a better option to us than the mundane ‘manna and quail.’ We are often not content with the status quo and our innate restlessness drives on towards new things. One just has to watch enough Television to see how this is played out in our communities on a daily basis.

However, sometimes the journey we go on is not filled with adventure and fun, but with pain, suffering and confusion. The Israelites found themselves at one stage. They had been rescued from the pain and suffering of slavery in Egypt and had been wandering in the desert for a long time. Their journey had already been long and the Promised Land seemed far off. They grew tired, grumpy and disillusioned.

During the Second World War, Elie Weisel found that he was forced to go on a pilgrimage of pain. In his book, ‘Night’ he shares how he and his father were torn away from his mother and three sisters during the war. Some of them were sent to Auschwitz and the others to Buchenwald. He was barely a teenager when this happened and his life was scarred by what he experienced. After his father’s death in Auschwitz he wrote these words – ‘My eyes were open and I was alone – terribly alone in a world without God and without man.’

This is also how Jesus felt when he journeyed towards the cross. He felt alone and abandoned, by those who had walked the past three years with him. Yet, in his time of greatest need, he was left to travel alone. His cry from the cross, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ tells of his incredible pain and anguish as he realises his ‘aloneness.’

Thankfully, we know the ending to this story, otherwise we may end up feeling totally depressed. God rescues his Son and Jesus conquers the cross. In walking the path of suffering he opens up the way for us to have victory over the difficulties we face. Even for the Israelites we see how throughout the whole process God remained close to them and reminded them of his presence. He blessed them with a cloud to guide them in the day and a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13:21).

In the same way, God wants to protect and guide us day and night. He promises us that he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Whatever we are facing in our life’s journey, we need to be reminded that God is with us.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord, please continue to walk alongside me today. You are my strength and my salvation. Guide me in my decisions and give me resilience in my difficulties. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Read through Exodus 13 and 14.