2.12.25. ~ Victory has a Cost

Good morning!

With Passover just two months away we find ourselves at the point of the year that represents a time to reject ungodly counsel, a time to taste and see the goodness of God and a time to declare, 'My blessings are on the way (Deut. 28:1-14)!'

The three winter months connect to the 3 tribes situated to the North of the Tabernacle (Dan, Asher, Naphtali). The month of Shevat, associated with Asher, encourages us to subdue the carnal nature, our yetzer hara, and see what we have not seen and allow the Holy Spirit to empower us to judge all things correctly. It's the preparation of these winter months that put us in the best position in the Spring to begin a new cycle of God's blessings during the time of Passover (Ex. 12:1ff).

One of the six commandments we are told to remember/zakar/act upon each day includes remembering that God has delivered us from Egypt (Deut. 16:3)! Within the Passover narrative, we find the key elements of how God delivered us from the physical bondage of Egypt on eagle's wings to bring us to Himself at Mt. Sinai to receive His instructions/Torah (Ex. 3:12; 19:4) and we find the same elements instructing us how to overcome our personal Egypt; the bondage that enslaves us on a day to day basis. The million dollar question we must all ask ourselves is: "Do I want to leave my personal Egypt"?

This modern day enslavement causes me to cry out to God from the narrow confinements/mitzrayim of desperation, inhibitions, blockages, tight spaces, enslaved in my own country of inner blockages and constraints that I have brought upon myself by my actions and/or my responses to people's actions towards me.

This enslavement reveals itself in arrogance, depression, despair, anger, laziness, hedonism, greed, selfishness and the like, which have their Egyptian grip on every one of our lives. For many of us we can identify with the statement it's easier to take the slave out of Egypt than it is to take Egypt out of the person.

Deliverance from Egypt isn't just an event to be commemorated, it's an event to relive (Ex. 13:8; cf. Heb. 7:9-10). Within the yearly cycle God grants us the capacity to be delivered from our own Egypt/mitzrayim. The same power that God used to deliver His people 3,500 years ago is the same power that can permeate my life and liberate me from my own bondage.

Daily we can live in victory! Victory, however, doesn't come without action and doesn't come without cost! Within the three elements of the Passover Seder there are three foods that must be consumed and identified with personally. In reverse order, they are the bitter herbs/maror, the unleavened bread/matzah and the passover lamb (Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11). Each of these elements gives us spiritual instruction on how to physically and spiritually overcome the bondage of our personal Egypt.

The bitter herbs/maror is a reminder that we were once slaves in Egypt. As the '12 step' counseling programs teach, the first step to healing and freedom is acknowledging what keeps us in bondage. Here, we must be honest and not finger pointing (Rom. 2:1-4)! I've got to recognize that I have a problem. I don't have to parade my bondage for the world to see, but I do need to be honest with myself. If I want freedom, I have to recognize there is an issue that holds me captive (Rom. 6:16; John 8:34; 2 Pet. 2:19). Until a slave knows he is a slave, he can't take steps to obtain his freedom. Then, unlike the '12 step programs' we have to let go of the past and stop living that mindset of "Hi my name is Alan, I'm a ...".

The unleavened bread/matzah has a dual symbol of slavery, freedom and more. It's a seder element of humility (1 Cor. 8:1). Matzah is corrective action. Contrary to leavened bread/chametz, matzah is quick bread and the bread of affliction. It requires that you arrest the fermentation process by acting quickly. Maror identifies my slavery and matzah instructs me to do something about it quickly...don't delay. No excuses! Get 'er done! It's activating the concrete changes that need to be done to activate my freedom!

Many spend so much time psychoanalyzing themselves that they experience professional victimhood. I'm sure we've all had those moments where we had a great idea of inspiration to get us out of the doldrums of life...but, because we didn't solidify our 'light bulb' moment with definitive action the inspiration evaporates into the history of what could have been.

The Passover Lamb has the requirement that it cannot be eaten alone! it must be shared with other people. It's all about community! If we are going to be liberated from our personal bondage, we need community. A group of people who love us and cheer us on in the process of our individual exodus. We need friends! And if you want friends, you have to show yourself to be friendly (Prov. 18:24). The single greatest element to being a good friend is using two ears and one mouth and keeping them in proportion while being there through thick and thin (Eccl. 4:9-12)...more on Friday night's zoom call.

All three seder elements are essential to overcoming your own Egypt, but none is more important than finding a good community of believers who share the same commitment to love and growth as you desire deep inside. They empower me to transcend my limitations, open up my heart, take away my ego, my greed, my cutthroat capitalism, my victim mentality and/or the abuser that surfaces actively or passively.

We don't have to pretend that we were there that day when God delivered the people out of Egypt, we feel it every day and we can live the deliverance each day!

Passover's coming!

Shalom

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