Passing by the man in the sand

My 4-year-old grandson and I sat on the couch a few weeks back and watched clips from a classic 50’s black and white horror movie. The show depicted a giant spider that came out of the mountains to kill the people in town. I was amused at the level of drama from back then. I noticed with limited technology what they lacked in effects they made up for in drama. People would scream, throw their hands up and become frozen in fear just before their demise. What I took away from that quality movie time was that we, as a human race, are good at screaming at the giant, good at wearing chains, but not so good at identifying and becoming free from them.

The apostle Paul is a good case study in proper chain attire. He was frequently imprisoned, chained, and locked down. He wrote most of his epistle from a prison cell, but what we can learn from Paul is that we can either become enslaved by our chains or free despite them. God wasn’t being cruel by allowing Paul’s chains; he was being strategic.

In Exodus chapter 2, we are introduced to Moses as a baby. Because of Jewish prophecy of a deliverer, the king of Egypt had placed a death sentence on all male babies. Moses was floated on the river in a basket in order to save his life. He was pulled from the river by the Egyptian princess and raised as Egyptian royalty. One day, as an adult, he witnessed an Egyptian task master beating a Hebrew slave. Moses defended the man by killing the Egyptian. He then tried to hide his sin by burying him in the sand. Moses went from a royal position to public enemy number one real fast. He left Egypt a convicted felon and fled to a faraway land called Midian. He lived there for 40 years, trying to escape his past, until a burning encounter with God at a bush sent him back to the very place he tried so hard to escape.

 Moses was called by God to Egypt to be the catalyst for the deliverance of his people. The last words he heard from that place were attacks on his character. The last thing he did was to bury his sin in the sand. In order for Moses to step out of who he was and into who God called him to be would require him to pass by the man in the sand.

Each of us has a man of our own buried in the sand; it’s the voice inside that tries to tell us that we can’t. It’s the memory of a past lifestyle. For some of us, the man in the sand screams louder than the man on the cross. Moses led an estimated 2.5 million people and belongings out the front gate of the most powerful nation on the earth. He led them, fed them, taught them, and loved them for another 40 years. However, before he led them out, he had to lead himself in. He had to pass his man in the sand. Moses had to bury his haunting memories of who he was before he could become who God called him to be.

The most powerful Old Testament character in the Bible was a flawed individual just like you and me. Now, that is grounds for encouragement.

Join us this Sunday morning at Christpoint Church, in downtown Sparta. We have three service times: 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. We’re real people, living real lives, serving a real God. Welcome home.