12February2011 Protests III

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"   

Vincent van Gogh

This part of the world was glued to the TV last night as news of Hosni Mubarak's departure from office echoed across the Middle East.  For 18 days millions of people in Cario and throughout the rest of Egypt took to the streets demanding democracy, new leadership, better living conditions, etc.  Finally the elder politician succumbed to the pressure and abdicated his office of three decades.  Its going to be interesting to see how the world's 30th largest country transforms in the days ahead. 

Just this morning I was reading about another similar, large-scale protest.  It seems the people were very upset about their living conditions, lack of adequate nourishment and apparently non-caring leadership.

These protests occurred just outside of Egypt over three thousand years ago.  In spite of their recent liberation, the people wanted to return back to free baskets of fish, melons, cucumbers, onions and....slavery.  Blinded by fear of the giants and especially fear of the unknown, the people despised their promise.  Rather than savoring abundance, the land was after all flowing with milk and honey, they wept, whined and nearly stoned their leaders.  As a result they savored punishment instead.  The entire nation, except for 2 men, died in the wilderness.

Fear of the unknown is powerful.  Because of it we make poor decisions, fail to move forward and miss the opportunities to embrace His promises.  This lesson is especially poignant for us as we consider our next steps.  Our hearts desire is to proceed in faith and seek Father's will regardless of where it takes us. 
We're hopeful for the people of Egypt as they step forward into uncharted territory.  We hoping, as well, for you. Don't whine, don't turn back and don't let fear of the unknown hold you back.
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