Exodus 13:17-18 (NLT)
When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.
Admit it: Most of us don’t like fighting battles. Who does? Just like the Israelites that God had just delivered from slavery, we tend to change our minds when faced with a battle. I’m not just talking about the sword-and-spear kind of battles that the Israelites would have tried to avoid at all cost. I’m talking about those battles that hit a little closer to home. Things like loving the unlovable. Reaching out past our comfort zone to welcome in the very people that scare us the most. Exchanging our comfort and security for irritation and uncertainty. We’d rather walk for days in the wilderness “getting ours” than face those fears.
Make no mistake: Declaring as a church to reach out to the least, the lost, and the broken was not the easiest path that Refuge Church could have taken. We could have decided to just reach out with our own selfish comforts in mind. You know, find us a good, clean building in the nicest part of town. Show up. Take our shoes off before we walk in so we don’t scuff up the floor. Visit about nothing in particular. Eat breakfast. Sing some catchy songs. Sit and listen to the preacher. Go home. While lives can certainly be changed through fellowship and the worship service, God never called us to leave our faith in a building or pick and choose who we’re comfortable having in our midst.
As we begin our day knowing that we’re going to face battles and encounter situations and people that make us uncomfortable, we should always be mindful that nowhere in God’s word will you find a call to live as comfortable a lifestyle as you can manage while giving the least, the lost, and the broken your scraps and leftovers.
We are called to love, serve, and battle for God with everything that we’ve got. If we can choose to do that, maybe we can stop wasting so much time in the self-centered wilderness we sometimes find ourselves in.
