Boy, It’s Hot and Other Complaints
Posted on: November 7, 2013
Boy, it’s hot!
Are we there yet?
I’m thirsty.
The sand is burning my toes!
It’s really hot.
And, I’m really thirsty… and hungry.
Why can’t we go back?
I want to go back!
We should have never come!
The children of Israel had witnessed miracle after miracle in the few short weeks since they left the confines of their prison. The land of Egypt. Pharaoh. Forced labor. Cruel taskmasters.
God showed them his might and power. His strength. He had parted the red sea. He went before them in a cloud by day, and a column of fire by night. In this time, he had provided them and all of their livestock with enough water to keep them hydrated. God went over and beyond what was necessary while leading the children of Israel around in the desert for forty years.
And yet, they grumbled.
They weren’t satisfied.
They were hot.
They were tired.
They wanted a Big Gulp.
Well, okay, there weren’t any 7-Eleven’s back then, but they were thirsty.
They wanted to go back to Egypt.
Wait.
Why would they want to go back to a place of slavery? A place of turmoil and hard, cruel labor? A place of sadness? Where taskmasters beat them for any and all reasons? It certainly couldn’t be for the pots of meat they said they missed. Ok, well, maybe the did miss the onions and the leeks… they didn’t have a garden in the desert. And, Safeway wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s mind at this point.
They grumbled and complained.
They weren’t satisfied.
On a trip that should have only taken them ten days, they wondered for forty years. Round and round and round they go…
Why?
Why wouldn’t they make a straight B-Line to their land of Promise? Why drag over a million people through the desert sands?
Deuteronomy 8:2 tells us:
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way these 40 years in the desert, to humble and test you in order to make known what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (ISV)
Ew.
We have the privileged of hind-sight for the Israelites.
I’m pretty sure they flunked that test.
With flying colors.
Egypt, and its paganistic way, was revealed to be deeply ingrained within the heart of the children of Israel. It’s idol worship — as evidenced by Aaron making the golden calf so they could “worship” a god they could see, even while Moses was on the Mountain receiving the ten commandments. You can read the account in Exodus 32.
The children of Israel may have left the land of Egypt, but Egypt did not leave them.
The bible goes on to tells us an entire generation perished in the desert because of their disobedience (See Numbers 32:13 – the NIV states: until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone). They were not allowed to enter the Promise Land. Only those born in the desert, save a few (See Numbers 32:12), were allowed to cross the Jordan. They grouched and complained that Moses had drug them away from Egypt… the entire forty years. They held on to their idols… they complained… they demanded to go back to Egypt…
They couldn’t let go.
I liken the prison of Childhood Sexual Assault to the slavery of the Children of Israel in the land of Egypt. CSA is cruel, harsh, and demanding to the one who is enslaved by it. It becomes ingrained in the heart of its captive. A parameter of what is known. A way of life. Those of us who are survivors learn to adapt to our surroundings.
Once we begin to walk away from our cruel taskmaster, and believe me, God wants us to walk out, everything that once was taught to us as normal or acceptable must be released. God will deliberately take us through our own desert in order to reveal all that is in our hearts. We cannot allow even a remnant of ground for our former taskmaster to gain another foothold.
We must let go.
The length of our journey depends on us. Our attitude. Our reluctance to let go. Our idols.
What did we pick up along the way?
Fear?
Low-self esteem?
Anger?
Hatred?
Bitterness?
Pornography?
Identity issues?
Sexual Promiscuity?
Prostitution?
Or, the fear of the opposite sex?
The list could go on.
What idols do we trust in more than God?
Self?
Ritual?
Jujitsu?
Revenge?
Religious practices?
Christian books?
Whatever we insert into the place of God becomes an idol to us.
When God begins to work on our hearts, to reveal everything we hold on to and trust in, our job is to let go. Let it go.
It hurts.
I’m afraid.
I don’t want to re-live that nightmare.
I don’t want to cry.
But, in letting go you become free. There is an entire land flowing with milk and honey on the other side of this desert…
I don’t want to let go of my anger.
I don’t want to release my bitterness.
I want to hold on to revenge…
I’d rather stab him in the eyes…
It’s hot.
I’m thirsty.
I wanna go back.
Let the children of Israel be a lesson to you.
Don’t be like them.
Don’t hold on to the past so tightly that you can’t enter into your Promised Land.
It’s going to be hard.
It’s going to be tough.
It might take you longer than a few years to get there, but with each step forward, you will get there.
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Purchase Whisper From My Heart — Emotional and Spiritual Healing from Childhood Sexual Assault
6 Responses to "Boy, It’s Hot and Other Complaints"
December 11, 2013 at 10:13 pm
I believe the sexual abuse of a minor child is almost like murder. Personally I’d like to see sentencing stiffened. But whether the perpetrator gets 10 years and is out in 6 /12 or if he/she gets 25 to life, the victim still has to go on. Still has to survive. I think the only one who can heal the deep wounds of sexual abuse is Jesus.
December 12, 2013 at 5:07 am
So very true, Nike. Medications, drugs, alcohol, etc can numb the pain.. mask it over… and we survive. I did the masking over for too many years… until it almost killed me. My true healing came when I allowed Jesus to reach into the past to heal those wounds so they wouldn’t keep my present captivated. That is where true freedom is found… only in Him. And, when he sets you free, you are no longer just a survivor… you are an overcomer!
December 12, 2013 at 6:13 am
Ten years ago we adopted three girls through a special program for hard to place children (older children who had languished in foster care). I will not tell their stories here because they are not mine to tell. But as a mother I can tell you the frustration of watching girls struggle with anger and self-loathing.
December 13, 2013 at 6:33 am
I can relate to foster care too. Some “not very nice things” can take place while you are there.
Satan will use any means necessary in order to divide and conquer.
Whispersfrommyheart's Blog 
November 28, 2013 at 7:51 pm
It’s a long, hard, dusty walk out, but walking out is exactly what He wants for us as you’ve shared so well Cheryl. No going back, only forward. He’s been walking me out of CSA for a long time, and He still shows me every now and then something still hanging on from the past. It has definitely taken me longer than a few years; it has been almost forty. Maybe I’m a slow learner, but whatever the reason, He is teaching me so much of Himself with every step forward. A book that has helped me recently to move a bit more forward in my quest for healing, and knowing Him, is “The Fire of Delayed Answers” by Bob Sorge.
November 29, 2013 at 5:21 am
Thank you, so much!
I think we will continue to learn for the rest of our lives. But, in the end, it is going to be so worth it!
I will have to check that book out. I am always reading!
Thank you, again, for your comment!