THE JOURNEY TO EGYPT

THE JOURNEY TO EGYPT

It may surprise many that while the title of the book is Journeying from Egypt to Canaan, the first chapter is entitled the journey to Egypt. The quest here is to understand how we got ourselves in the mess that we are in.

The journey from Egypt to Canaan involves a nation called Israel that lived in Egypt for many years, approximately 400 years. The question that begs for answers is, how did a nation chosen by God find itself serving another nation? How does a nation that is founded under the basis of God’s promise lose its focus in such a big way?

Genesis 22:17- 18 (NIV)

I will surely bless you and make your descendant numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand of the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through your offspring all nations will be blessed because you have obeyed me.

How do you start from “…your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies“ to “so they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.” Something must have gone terribly wrong.

Stories are told of children of preachers who are languishing in jail. One cannot help but wonder, how did a pastor’s child end up in jail?

Our newspapers are filled with horrid stories of domestic violence; man beating wife and wife beating her husband. A few years ago, marriage though not perfect was respected. Divorced women were shunned by the community and single parented households were looked down upon. Every young man in these families was busy searching for their biological father.

This was a clear indication that people understood the men’s roles as fathers. Fast forward to a few years later and the number of divorce is alarming. Young girls who few years ago would be fantasizing about their dream weddings are now taking vows never to get married. What went wrong, one wonders! We went to Egypt.

Life is full of trouble left right. Hearts are full of bitterness and souls are filled with sorrows. For both the Israelites and ourselves it was bound to happen. The road they took was bound to land us all in Egypt.

It took years of hard work to get us there.

Sadly as it may sound, it took years of hard work to get us in the mess we are in. An example would help bring this home. Many people have said and I agree that Kenyan football is on its death bed. People do agree however that there is a lot of talent. There is the remembrance of 1986 when Gor Mahia took the Nelson Mandela cup. Three decades later, there is no functioning football body running football. The existing ones, KFF and FKL are running two parallel leagues and the country is facing a ban by the world governing body FIFA. You want to understand why? The answer is simple; carefully executed plans to rip off anything that can be found. Let me explain it in the next passage.

People have sat in boardrooms, conducted meetings and wrote length proposals to request for money to run football. Once they received the money, they went back to the boardrooms and carefully looked for ways to share the cake. This was done so carefully that there is literally no one to prosecute. It took years of hard work and careful planning to take football to its death bed.

Stories are known of husbands who worked hard to get their families in perfect misery. Planning for a night out with one’s mistress demands some sort of brilliance. First, one has to look for the perfect excuse. Then the alibi has to be chosen carefully.

The husband has to balance his cash book so as to perfectly explain the money spent in the rendezvous. And then comes the washing off of guilt which means getting the perfect gift. Finally, there is the perfect re-entry; all this in a bid to ruin ones’ own perfect family.

If we are to talk about the murder, deceit, adultery, robbery and all matter of evil going in the world, one would wonder how we got here. This is puzzling after reading the first couple of chapters of Genesis. And God saw all that he had made and it was very good. How did we get away from that?

It all started many years ago with the first couple. Then the chosen people decided they were going to crucify the very person who came to help the situation. Later followed years of neglect of any and every spiritual discipline there is in the book. And then we wonder why our children are behaving like animals. We shouldn’t blame them. We set them on the wrong path.

Egypt has the illusion of greener pasture.

All this was brought about by an illusion that Egypt has greener pasture. And of course, many of us are deceived by the same thinking. Adam and Eve started it all. Lot emulated the style. And it’s been a free fall ever since.

For some reason, every time there was famine in God’s people’s land they always thought of Egypt. Abraham did the same thing, Isaac almost did it, and Jacob took his whole family into Egypt.

It’s going to take more than wishful thinking.

Now that we are here, we have to get out. We cannot deceive ourselves that we are home in Egypt. The sooner we realize we are in bondage the sooner we will start looking for a way out. But sometimes that is where the problem begins. It is easy to realize that one is in bondage, the problem is the process of getting out.

It is important to realize that, since it took many years for us to get into Canaan, it is going to take more than wishful thinking to get out of Egypt. Getting out will be a long process. The quick fix solutions do not work in situations like these. It is a process, one that will probably take a long time; probably 40 years. Such understanding prepares the sojourner for the journey. Getting out of debt is not easy, it takes time and effort which requires a lot of commitment and discipline.

This is an important understanding not only for the people coming out, but also for the people who have been placed along their path to assist them through the process.

Many alcoholics have relapsed back to drinking because when they set out to quit drinking, they thought it was going to be as easy as saying “I am not drinking anymore.” Cases have been told of people who got rid of alcoholic drinks so that their relatives stopped drinking. Some even locked them in houses in an attempt to force them to stop drinking. Sometimes, these attempts looked successful because briefly, these people stopped drinking or smoking. Then when the trigger came, they were back in full throttle.

Many people have attempted to stop adultery by going for prayers. They give out offerings in envelops and get anointing oil and holy water with instructions on how to use them whenever they see people of the opposite sex. That will definitely not help; quitting sinful ways will of course require some level of prayer and intercession. The success of the process is however heavily dependent on the willingness of the person to go through the process of sanctification.

It took a long time and a lot of hard work to get us into this mess, it is going to take more than the desire to get out. We must be prepared to take the long journey; a journey through the wilderness

2

THE MOSES FACTOR

‘When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often that person is crazy. – Dave Banny

…Moses was that leader.

What is interesting about the Exodus story is the Moses factor. All this time, people were suffering in the hands of their slave masters. They were being over worked, paid insufficient wages and receiving harsh beating.

Even though Pharaoh had issued a decree that all male children be killed at birth, the mid wives found a way to beat the system and ensured boys were born to Israelite women. So the boys survived. All this time boys were growing up into strong men who would spend their time and energy serving their Egyptian masters.

The interesting thing is that, of all the men that lived in Egypt, none of them saw the suffering the others were going through.

If they saw, nobody cared that the chosen nation was being worked while they were the ones to possess all the land. Nobody saw or cared until Moses showed up.

Notice, Moses did not kill the Egyptian beating up the Israelite because God had called him to save his people, rather he was touched by the suffering his brother was going through. He decided to act based on his empathy for his fellow Israelite. The call came forty years later after fleeing into the desert.

It is the rising up to the occasion that distinguishes a leader from the rest. God does not call anyone who is idle, He calls the person who is busy. There is a saying that says “If you want to assign some work, find the busy guy, the idle one does not have time.” It is this Moses that took the Israelites out of bondage.

Should anyone be thinking of making this journey, the first thing they need to find is a leader, not a perfect leader but a leader none the less. By all means Moses wasn’t perfect. Things are going to get rough and at some point you will need a Moses to raise his staff over the water so as to save you from Pharaoh’s army. The scotching heat is going to take its toll at some point and Moses will come in handy; strike a rock and make water gush out for you to drink.

Many journeys to Canaan do not take off because the people involved do not recognize the Moses within the group.

“Every generation needs a revolution and every revolution needs a leader” – unknown.

He does not have to be perfect. Moses couldn’t even speak fluently. He had his personal issues to deal with; fear, anger etc. His organizational skills were wanting thanks to his father in law’s advice that corrected this. But all the same he was the person who answered the call to rescue the Israelites. While some people do not recognize the Moses in the group, some keep looking for a perfect one. The Israelites faced the same challenge soon after leaving Egypt. Though he had his weaknesses, it was wrong for Aaron and Miriam to defy his leadership as narrated in Numbers 12

Number 12:1-2

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

Why Aaron and Miriam were not consumed will probably remain a mystery. One thing is clear; their act did not go unnoticed and certainly not unpunished.

Many young preachers fail to reach their potential because they do not realize the need to follow a leader.

“One mark of a successful person is their ability to follow.”

A person who is incapable of being led is headed for doom. He is on a path to self-destruction.

Although I am not as zealous as I should be, I love football all the same. This love for football has drawn me into a desire to be a professional football coach. It seems automatically I started looking at successful coaches so as to draw lessons from. I couldn’t help being drawn to “The Special One” as he calls himself. Jose Mourinho, manager for Real Madrid FC in Spain is by far one of the best coaches around if not the best. What impressed me most about him was not the number of trophies he has won or the number of teams he has won these trophies with. I was very impressed by his journey to success.

Many people know Mourinho after breaking into the limelight with Porto FC. Before that, many had no idea of the years he spent moving from one team to the other with the coaching legend Bob Robson as an interpreter. Jose realized that Bob Robson was the man who could take him into the paradise of coaching and he stuck with him.

“Before we learn how to lead we must learn how to follow”

It is important to find a person who is successful NOT perfect, successful in what you want to achieve and follow.

Christ presents to us as the head that we have to follow if our lives are to be saved from the doomsday to come. People who disregard the leadership and lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ stand no chance on judgment day. He says, if anyone wants to be his disciple, they have to forsake all, take up their cross and follow him. It is with this admonition in mind that Paul left his former life, took up the cross of Christ and set out to follow him.

Life is a team effort not an individual sport. We make our contribution in an equation that has been around forever. This means that there are many people who have been there before us, done what we want to do, gone where we are attempting to go. It would not be wise not to take advantage of these tons of resources either in living persons or books and works. I think this is why I like American football, soccer and basketball in that order as compared to tennis, golf and athletics and yes in that order. The former are exclusively team sports.

People who think they can make it on their own never get too far. Paul’s reasons for success in ministry was his ability to follow and so he encourages us to follow. He says, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

Find a leader and follow… He is going to get you out of your Egypt into the promise land.

3

THE EGYPT MENTALITY

Many people lament of troubles and tribulations BUT continue to sit comfortably in the same. Someone told me once, ‘You are not in pain, when the pain becomes unbearable you’ll remove your foot.’ Moving out is easier said than done. One of the reasons why people continue to suffer in their miserable lives is the fear of change. They live out the Swahili saying “Zimwi likujualo halikuli likakumaliza” meaning, the ghost that knows you won’t consume you completely. For this reason they choose to stay in their problems hoping that it is the best they can get.

It is easy to see ones current situation as better off when focusing too much on the process ahead. Many people concern themselves with how long, how tough the journey might be when the most important thing is the first step. They say a journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.

Recovering alcoholics are advised that the journey to quitting drinking starts by turning down one offer at the local pub.

It does not matter how many offers the person will accept, the fact that he was able to decline one means he can decline two or even three offers. Eventually he could find himself turning down invitations to drink for a whole week.

When people think of being prayerful, they wonder how they could ever be able to pray for three hours a day. They realize that it may be an impossible dream so they do not even try. They forget that a three hour prayer, if praying for three hours is important, starts with a five minute prayer. It is a five minutes prayer that will turn into a ten minutes prayer. This can increase to twenty minutes and slowly three hours may be achieved. I like the saying ‘I will cross the bridge when I get there’.

Whereas there are those who sit comfortable in their troubles, there are those who take the first step out. In the end they manage to start to stop drinking; they tell the ‘other’ woman it’s over, they enroll for classes. They open a savings account so that they can start making savings for their kids’ education. The problem is that, while many leave physically, in their minds they remain in Egypt.

Even after stopping drinking, they continue hanging out at the local pub. Even after breaking the relationship with the mistress, they continue keeping her photo in the wallet and see her occasionally in the name of being just friends. Soon or later they are dragged back into their old habits.

Maybe what needs to be mentioned when counseling people over alcoholism, drug abuse, marital issues and any other vice is that, every cloud has a silver lining.

Everything, even the bad ones have their bright side. When talking to young boys about the danger of smoking, many people like presenting it as if there is no fun at all in smoking. This is only true if the boys won’t try it. However, when they do they are surprised that it is fun. So goes out all the advice that cigarette smoking causes cancer, TB, and every other disease. The same happens when talking to teenagers about the dangers of pre-marital sex. Most counselors paint a very gross picture of sex in an attempt to scare these kids from ever desiring it. They are proven wrong the first time the thirteen year old girl is kissed.

With all the suffering and mistreatment, life in Egypt had its good side. Compared to Canaan, Egypt was hell on earth but that does not reduce it to nothing. When faced with the wilderness, the Israelites remembered the small goodies they were used to getting in Egypt. They remembered the onions, meat and the bread.

Exodus 16: 2(NKJV)

Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Leaving Egypt is one thing, getting Egypt out of you is quite another. There is a saying “Getting a person out of the village is easy, not so getting the village out of the person.” Many people do not succeed in their new found lives not because they never tried to live a new life. They did. The problem is, while they took the risk and plunged themselves into the new adventure, they carried with them the old pains, hurts and disappointments.

A story is told of a guy who was walking down the street carrying a heavy load. A motorist saw him and decided to help him by giving him a ride. Surprisingly the guy gets into the car, takes a seat but does not remove the luggage from his head.

Many girls having been hurt by irresponsible men decide to blame it on all men. Even after getting a good guy, they still find faults in him saying “all men are dogs.” This is a true story; a young man who wouldn’t take college money from his father who is estranged from his mother. Reason being, his father left them when he was young. He ends up flunking out of college because of a “battle” he never saw begin; love gone sour.

Sometimes it is not just about hurt, it can be about success. I always laugh at elderly people who stand in front of young people and testify “When I was young, I was so fiery with God.” What makes me shrug is that what this person is saying happened more than twenty years ago. And that is still the highlight of our old friend.

Many students who get very good grades in high school struggle in college not because they are not intelligent but because they go into college with the assumption that they do not have to work hard anymore. They are better than the rest. When people are busy in the library, they are busy partying.

Sometimes we “dwell in the security of the past, unwilling to venture into the future because of the fear of ignorance or the lack of knowledge about the subject matter.” The Bible greatly speaks of this attitude and admonishes believers to stop thinking about the past and focusing on the future.

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:18-19(NIV)

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Getting into Canaan requires a shift of mentality. People who want change have to start thinking differently. Young men get married but remain single in their minds and end up struggling until that time when it gets through their heads that they are married.

Students struggle in school because though present in class, their mind sometimes is held back firmly on what they left back home. Sometimes it is the good thing they left or the lack thereof. Paul admonishes the believers in Rome to change the way they think; to renew their minds.

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is almost impossible to get into something new without getting out of something old. Christ also added his voice on this matter when He said, it is impossible to put something new in an old vessel.

Matthew 9:16-17 (NIV)

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No they pour new wine into new wineskins.

4

THE DISCIPLINE

As a football coach I am known to love discipline. My love for rules of the game is to say the least strong. I strongly believe that football without rules looks a lot like rugby. In fact, players and athletes are probably the most disciplined people; they have to stay disciplined in and out of the pitch.

‘Greatness cannot be achieved without discipline.’

• Unknown

A couple that wants to ensure that their kids inherit a Canaan of financial security has to have the discipline of saving. A student who wants to walk in the glory of Canaan has to have the discipline of sticking to a study program.

An organization or institution is headed for failure if the first thing that is done is not developing a constitution, bylaws or rules and regulations whatever you want to call them. The constitution or by laws stipulate how the organization is going to be run, how the goals are going to be achieved. It states how one officer relates to another, job descriptions, and obligations. A constitution should also state what penalties should be applied to officers or people who do not adhere to the set functions and directives.

A constitution is a vital document for an organization just like a manual is important to any machine. A manual states why a machine or a gadget was made in the first place. It then explains how the machine should be used so as to achieve maximum productivity. It can also indicate how to know when the machine is malfunctioning and what can be done to restore it to the normal working condition.

The journey from Egypt is a very huge undertaking. Exodus put the number at 600,000 fighting men; this does not include women and children.

Exodus 12:37-38 (NIV)

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

Another problem is the simple logistics to supply feed water and move such a large number according to a quarter master general in the army it would take 1500 tons of food, 4000 tons of wood as fuel, and 11 million gallons of water each day to supply the basic need of this group. Another problem is the location of the latrine.

This is just one aspect of the journey. There is also the conflict resolution part, the medical aspect among other things. Such an undertaking requires a lot of planning. Such an undertaking also requires some high level management. This cannot be done without putting down a set of rules. This made it necessary for God to establish some rules and regulations that would guarantee a safe passage through the desert. For example, how were they to deal with the latrine issue? Deuteronomy 23: 12, 13 answers that very well.

Deuteronomy 23:12-13 (NIV)

Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement.

The dietary laws were also designed to promote wise management and efficient utilization of the environmental resources that God entrusted to mankind. The instructions about “clean” and “unclean” foods are important in fulfilling what was given in Genesis.

To rightfully understand the dietary laws, they must be seen from the context of God’s purpose for all humanity.

It is from this perspective that people can start understanding the Ten Commandments and the rest of the 600 plus commands. The spiritual implication of the Ten Commandments cannot be underestimated. You can see each of the Ten Commandments from the context of creating a harmonious community so as to make a smooth transition from Egypt to Canaan. They bring order in the camp.

Think of a company where telling lies or false testimony isn’t a problem. Or where sleeping with other men’s wives or dogs, or cows isn’t a problem. Think of the diseases that would that would wipe out the entire population. Need I not mention rumors that HIV/AIDS came from man-monkey romance?

The Bible should also be understood as a manual on how the human race should operate. The human body is probably the most complex body ever. Ignoring the Bible is like buying a car and deciding that the owner will not consult the manual. Having a manual, a constitution, by-laws, rules and regulations is good, but if these statues are not followed to the later, their existence is not useful. Following the statues to the later should probably be emphasized. Would it be of any use following all the directives and instructions of using a car but deciding that you will ignore one small detail, not changing the oil?

Discipline is a vital element to the successful run of any organization. The discipline is not just in the setting up of organizational policies but also the discipline to stick to it. My beloved apostle Paul puts it as clear as it can be ‘also anyone who competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes by the rules.’ Where there are no rules, people do not win let alone coming out of the war alive.

It is easy to follow rules that have been set down. For example, with some difficulty, students resign to following the rules in school because of the consequences they bring if not followed. This is true of government requirements for employees to contribute to pension funds. The employees usually do not have much choice as the pay comes having been chopped already.

The most critical rules in this life and in our journey from Egypt to Canaan are not those set by others but the ones we have to set ourselves. The personal resolves we make to do or not to do things. These are more than just New Year resolutions but real boundaries set to guide through the desert.

Rules to follow a rigorous study timetable; a resolve to become a better husband or wife and father or mother, determination to save a good percentage of your salary for future investment. Spiritual discipline requires more than programs set by the church in terms of number of chapters of the Bible members need to read per day or the number of services held per week.

Not even the minimum amount of offering one is supposed to give in any given Sunday. These are good because in a way, they help people in setting goals and provide markers. However, without the personal determination and resolve all these programs are in vain. Paul calls it, self-control. Set goals for your life, your Canaan, but along the way remember to set the rules and regulation that will guide you to your goals. Then the job will be to show enough discipline to stay focused and sharp.

Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)

Like a city whose walls are broken through

is a person who lacks self-control.

5

THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

After coming out of Egypt, many people think they are out of the wood; that the worst is over. Usually they are wrong. In fact in most the cases it’s just began. What follows is the wilderness experience. Every successful person has had their fair share of the wilderness experience. How one handles this wilderness experience will determine whether he or she is going to enter Canaan or simply perish in the desert.

The wilderness experience is a simple fact for anyone and anything; it is that one tough experience just before success.

“Before a seed grows into a tree, it has to die”-

That my friend, is an experience you will want to forget fast.

What is the wilderness experience?

For the married woman, it is that time when she has just got married, left the comfort of her friends and family moved to her husband’s place but hasn’t yet stayed long enough to make new friends. She sits lonely and bored in her house. If the husband is a typical guy, he is probably out watching football. The question in the wife’s mind is why he doesn’t spend time with her. On the other side there is the new mother in law and sisters in law. They can cause havoc to newly married couple.

For the new Christian, it is that time he has just left his former life and habits, beer, women and stuff but hasn’t quite yet understood what he needs to do instead. He is used to spending his weekend with the boys in the bar watching football or just messing around, now he can’t hang around the pub anymore. He has to go home straight from work. There is nothing to do back home and in fact he is suffocating everybody at home because they are not used to daddy being home early. Until he finds new hobbies and shakes off the old friends, this new Christian will struggle holding up.

People are prone to resist change. No matter what the change promises to bring. In our previous chapter we discussed the Egypt Mentality. People have a tendency to want to stay where they are. Irrespective of whether they are enjoying where they are or not. The newness on the experience can in itself become very challenging and frustrating.

Life for the Israelites was no different. They had left Egypt hoping to enter Canaan. Though life in Egypt was tough and painful, they were not prepared for the thirst, hunger, exhaustion that they would face in the desert. Because of their unpreparedness, the Israelites were nearly destroyed by the wrath of God if it were not for Moses’ constant intercession.

In management, the wilderness experience is called teething problem. These are the challenges faced in the early stages of any undertaking. One interesting fact about the wilderness experience is its timing. Some people would say the timing is in fact odd. The wilderness experience will always come after a major breakthrough not just before one. That is an assumption many people make; that the wilderness experience will precede a breakthrough. One needs to be wary of a great moment because it has a tendency of making people put down their guard.

After praying for a miracle for years, many people celebrate and stop praying. That is when the temptation strikes. This is a mistake many sisters make. They keep themselves smart and sharp until they get the “right” guy. Then they let go. You see them years later, a couple of kids, and a few pounds and you wonder if she is the same person. The same goes with guys. The pot belly, the beard and the long hair and he is certainly not the guy who drove ladies on the church crazy.

The wilderness experience will come after the big promotion in the name of an increased work load. To some it will be after the big wedding in the name of living off a very lean budget. The bundle of joy otherwise known as a new born baby is always preceded by very sleepless nights, husband “neglect”, financial strain, increased visits to the hospital.

For the Israelites, the wilderness experience came after one of the most astonishing miracles ever witnessed. They had just witnessed God make way through the Red Sea. The water stopped and made two huge cliffs and they passed on dry ground.

Many people see this as a bad thing. It’s not. And this is why. Would you rather face the wilderness after a run of disappointing events? Let’s take football for example. Would you face a huge team like Manchester United after a series of defeats or after victories? Definitely after a couple of victories because they increase your confidence and self-esteem.

There are three things that we need to understand if we are to survive any wilderness experience.

1. It won’t be easy

A wilderness experience is a tough experience to go through and it’s important to understand how to survive it. Strangely, the wilderness always comes hot on the heels of a major break-through.

I always say, laugh when life gives you a chance to do so because soon or later life is going to make you cry. It’s a cycle of life. We have to learn how to live through the desert, not escape it.

Marriages go through wilderness experiences. When this happens people try to find quick fix solutions. They want the easy way out. Marriage is hard, it is work. People who go into marriage with the Cinderella kind of expectation of happily ever after often get disappointed. We need to learn how to go through the struggle. By doing this, we learn who our spouses are and how to communicate best with them. We build a stronger relationship because we did not take the short cut.

Whoever said, living the Christian life was easy most definitely did not mean it or know what he was talking about. The Christian life on earth is in itself a wilderness experience of its own kind.

Journeying through the wilderness will not be easy. It will get hot. People will be thirsty. People will miss some meals along the way. In some cases some will face fiery snakes and some may even die.

1. This too shall pass

One thing is a fact, however long or hard the wilderness is, it does not last forever. On the other side of the wilderness there lies the boundary to Canaan. Mourning may last through the night but joy comes in the morning, so does the Bible say.

It’s a consolation to know there is only one eternal One, the Word of God, God Himself, the I Am. Apart from him, everything has a beginning and yes, it does have its ending. You need not to worry about how badly the situation is, the fact of the matter is that it won’t last forever.

Knowing that the problem will end is enough to hang in there. This is because no one wants to give the victory to someone else. It is impossible to persevere if you have a feeling that you are in it for a long haul. This is why AIDS victims find it hard to face life. The moment someone invented ARVs people stopped being scared to death and they are now facing life bravely. It is hard to fight a losing battle especially if you know that at the end of the day you will lose.

However, if one was told that they would win even after being knocked down many times, they would still fight on. This is what makes fighting terrorism quite difficult. Death is probably the biggest deterrent to any criminal activity. This is why death sentence is reserved for the most severe of crime.

When threatening a terrorist with a death sentence does not deter them then nothing will. This is because to them, even if you kill them they still win. How do you fight such mindset? Having such an attitude makes one invincible. This is exactly the attitude Christ wants his followers to have as they journey through the desert of life.

1. It needs a strategy

One thing is for sure, if you want to win a battle knowing your opponent is super important. In knowing your opponent you are able to develop the winning formula, the winning strategy. There are three things that anyone going through the wilderness needs to know. These come from Christ’s experience in the desert.

Matthew 4:1-11. Ensure to read this portion for clarity.

One will notice that Christ’s wilderness experience, temptation came hot on the heels of a major event in his life. He had just come out of the baptism service and where something happened that would have made a mark to any believer. God spoke and endorsed him. Hearing God say “This is my son whom I love, listen to him,” is any minister’s dream.

It is after this experience that Jesus was led to the desert on a fast. Christ’s wilderness experience was typical to what Christians go through. First the wilderness starts after a major breakthrough. Most importantly the real test does not take place at the beginning of the experience. What the devil will do is that he will spend time wearing off any resistance in you. He realizes that because of the miracle, the Christian’s faith is at its peak. He will take time to allow it to wear off if possible. Whatever the case, at some point the battle is bound to begin. The hard part is the temptations. We can learn three things from Christ’s experience;

1. Do not fear

There is a tendency for the devil to show you death, defeat and damnation. This makes everyone afraid and that is usually his goal. He puts a shed of darkness on tomorrow, creates some unknown outcomes and shows you how things can turn ugly. He shows how because of the sickness, you could actually die. He shows you the possibility of a divorce, the improbability of getting school fees and how your life may be destroyed by that. I call this the provision test. The wilderness has a tendency to cut off the flow of daily needs such as food, finances, shelter etc.

Secondly the devil over emphasizes certain things. Knowing that Christ has fasted for 40 days he knew he was hungry. But he wasn’t at the point of death. The devil wanted to make the piece of bread a matter of life and death.

The first thing one need to avoid when they find themselves in an awkward, tempting or dangerous situation is fear. Knowing that there is a way out of any and every temptation should give anyone some sense of peace. Satan would love to see you panic. Fear destabilizes our mental faculty and stops us from thinking straight. We see things from a skewed perspective. This is why the Bible is full of references of admonition for Christians not to fear.

It is believed that the phrase “Do not fear” is written 365 times in the bible.

The truth is it won’t kill you, do not fear. People have been in the same situations in the past and they prevailed. Losing your job doesn’t mean that the kids will necessarily drop out of school, not getting school fees does not necessarily mean you will be a failure because there are many successful people who do not have college papers. The devil will want you to see otherwise.

Take the water scarcity for example, couldn’t the God who split the Red Sea provide water in the desert? Then why were the Israelites making a big deal out of it.

1. Do not Doubt

There is nothing disastrous in battle than a mole from within or a feeling that the commander is incapable of leading the troops to battle. The devil will try to persuade you to believe that you are all alone. That God is not on your side, that your parents do not love you.

You do not want to find yourself in the desert alone. Christ was not shaken by any of the temptations he faced in his entire life. In fact he seemed to thrive in them until one day he sensed he was all alone. This was at the cross. You could tell by the cry “Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthan” that Christ had been pushed to the wall. With Christ on your side you can endure any and everything.

John 14; 18 (NIV)

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Since Christ promised never to leave us, the devil will try to make us doubt His presence.

The other thing he will try and make us doubt is our sense of being. One has to marvel and the devil’s creativity especially the way he phrased his second temptation. “If you are the son of God…” he said. Why if, I always ask myself.

The worst thing to do when in a marital conflict is to wonder “Does he really love me?” As a child there is nothing worse than questioning your sense of belonging in a family. This is the identity test. The devil will push you to questioning yourself, questioning your identity. That is a very dangerous thing. The wilderness has a habit of taking people there. A young wife’s thoughts of whether she really made the right choice of a husband.

The employee doubting as to whether taking the new job was the best idea. Have you bought something such as a refrigerator, a television set, something of substantial value or even just clothes and once you get home you start doubting whether it was the right thing to do. Such doubts have the potential of causing havoc to new relationships, new projects.

Instead of going forward, people start backtracking. The most famous one is, a girl who says yes to a marriage proposal and then starts doubting his love every time he does something wrong.

1. Do not quit

The ultimate goal of the devil is to persuade you to quit because he knows quitters never win the race. If he can make you quit, he will try to derail you.

In football, principles of play are divided in to two; principles of attack and principles of defense. Principles of defense are concerned with how a team prevents the opposing team from scoring. One of the aspects of principles of defense is delay. Players are encouraged to delay the movement towards goal. Ultimately the goal is to stop the opposing team from proceeding forward.

As we shall see later the devil will want to call the wilderness your home, poverty your inheritance, sickness your portion. I have witnessed sad cases where people have resigned to what they would call “their fate.”

Jesus came to deliver mankind and establish the kingdom of God on earth. However, this was going to be a long and painful process. The devil presented Jesus with an alternative, a less painful and less involving route.

What he wanted Jesus to do was to stop going the way of the cross and take a short cut. This is the ambition test. Many dreams and aspirations have been shattered because the sojourners decided to take a short cut.

Life in the wilderness is not a rosy affair, but understanding it can be the key as to whether we come out alive, or are destroyed in it.

6

WANDERING IN THE DESERT

As mentioned in the previous chapter, there is a tendency for people to settle down in the desert. There are people who leave Egypt, then face the scorching heat of the desert, the exhaustion, and hunger. You will expect that they will seek to get out of these circumstances, however after forty years of walking they still find themselves walking through the desert.

You know you are really lost when you wander through the street then only to realize you’ve passed that point before. At that point, it dawns on you that you are lost. The Bible says, “They circled Mount Seir for many days.” The Lord had to remind them that they had been there for too long and it was time to pack up and leave. Later we will look at the reasons as to why people circle mount Seir in their lives.

There are many people who start businesses so that they can liberate themselves from the doom of financial Egypt. They set out with goals to become the most successful businessmen in town. Sadly ten years down the line, the shop is exactly the same size it was when they started.

Many people believe in Christ. They set out with fire, testifying of the amazing grace that has changed their lives. They pass no one. They miss no prayer meeting. They withhold nothing for the service of the Lord. However, at some point they become happy with where they are and what they are doing. Ten years down the line they are exactly there, haven’t moved an inch. They reached a point and became stagnant.

Many couples make vows on their wedding day that they will make the marriage the best marriage ever witnessed, that they will make each other happy. Sadly, ten years down the line they are reduced to any other couple who rarely communicate to one another. As one woman would say, “as long as he brings the food on the table, he can do whatever he wants.”

There is one thing about this story that goes unnoticed by Bible readers; the reason as to why people circle Mount Seir. While we will look at one reason in the next chapter, the second can be discussed here. You will notice that when God was telling them to leave Mount Seir, the Bible also mentioned something very important.

Deuteronomy 2:1-3 (NIV)

Then we turned back and set out towards the desert along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord has directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir. Then the Lord said to me, “You

have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.”

Deuteronomy 2: 7 (NIV)

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

There is a tendency of settling for the small things when one is from Egypt. The assumption is clear. As much as they had food and shelter they had to work hard for it in Egypt, however in the desert, they had clean water, an automatic cloud shelter and free food. To top it all up, they didn’t do any work. Just wake up pick up a few birds and fetch water and the day’s job is over.

This has all the potential of making one feel like he or she has arrived. Examples are plenty of middle earners who show no desire to up their skills, not any ambition to work hard for promotion because they can get their basic needs using their small salaries.

This is the shopkeeper who is comfortable with the profit that only supplies food on the table, buy used clothes and barely pays the school fees for the kids. I call it stagnant-ization, mark timing, mediocre life. People settling for the better things

Romans 3:1-3 speaks of the church of Sardis that had a form of life but was dead.

Revelation 3:1 (NASB)

To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, [a]but you are dead.

From the outside they looked like they were doing fine. They looked like they were making progress. The problem is, after years of doing what they were doing they were still where they were.

These are the people who this sign is plastered for;

Christians who “serve” the Lord but years later they are doing the same thing without making progress.

Think of the boy who gets a c+ and instead of going to college, he gets enticed by a medium pay of 15000 shillings. For a 19-years old boy this is huge.

However, compared to 70000 shillings or more he would have gotten with a college degree, 15000 shillings is a robbery in daily light.

There is a tendency for people to think that Mount Seir is Canaan and start building houses there. If you have to build anything in the wilderness it’s not a house, it’s a tent.

How do you avoid settling down in the desert?

It is impossible to settle for a mediocre thing when you know the real thing. People who have a vision of where they want to go scarcely settle for less. This is because they know what they want. It is said that people who do not know where they are going never get lost. The reverse is the same, people who know where they are going know when they haven’t arrived.

S.M.A.R.T Goals

SMART is an acronym used to define characteristics of a good goal. The words represented are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Related.

Tanja Haley a psychologist explains these five words as follows.

Specific – set clear, concrete goals such as working towards a certification of some kind.

Measurable – identify markers that will indicate when you have reached your goals

Achievable – ensure that your goals are realistic. Ask yourself the question of whether your goals is actually achievable or not.

Relevant – choose goals that are applicable to your personal or professional development. Make sure that they are worth investing your time and energy in.

Time related – set a timeline that will guide your progress.

It is with this in mind that God saw it fit to show Moses the land of Canaan. After wandering through the desert for forty years, you might as well be forgiven for thinking that what you have is the best you can get out of the journey.

Many employees resign to being stagnant after many unsuccessful attempts of getting promotion. Many wives settle for loveless marriages after many trials of “reforming” the husband. They decide that perhaps that is the most they could get out of the marriage.

It was important that Moses understands where he was going; the land of milk and honey. When Moses was not going to enter Canaan, the leader that was chosen to lead the people into the Promised Land was not Aaron, Moses’ assistant for the time they left Egypt. God chose Joshua, one of the people who had visited Canaan in the first exploration mission.

The answer as to why God chose Joshua is very clear from this line of thought. Only two people had firsthand experience of what Canaan looked like. They knew where Canaan was and probably how long it would take them to get there.

If we are to make it to Canaan we need to have a vision of what our Canaan looks like. We need to have a clear understanding of our definition of success, our definition of growth and such like things. This will prevent us from reaching a point of feeling like we have arrived yet still in the desert.

Feeling too comfortable is a mistake many Christians make in this world. When Christians feel like this life is all there is, they get entangled into this life not realizing that they are passing. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and many more are commended for their faith. The book of Hebrews commends them in a very special manner; their realization that this world wasn’t their home; that all they had was a desert.

Hebrews 11: 13- 16 (NIV)

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

7

THE SPIES’ REPORT

It’s been a long journey; we have survived the wilderness and are now ready to get into Canaan. Everyone is excited at the prospects. What looked like impossible now looks like it is about to happen. There is a little thing that needs to be done before the Israelites can take possession of the land; take possession of it. This was going to involve some bit of fighting and so, Moses decided to send spies into the land so that they can have an idea how to strategize.

It did not seem necessary for them to send spies into the land but it could be useful. They had never used spies all the way until now and all that time they were getting into new territory. It is important though to ask for a second opinion when thinking of doing something new. How you receive and use that opinion is what is going to make all the difference in the world. There are a few lessons that could be useful to anyone.

It does not need a careful reading to notice that there are two spying incidents in the Bible.

There is one where Moses sent twelve spies one from each of the twelve tribes and another incident where Joshua sent two. Why there were two incidents and why the number of spies changed could point to more than what meets the eye.

It is also noticeable and significant that, the wandering in the desert we discussed in our last chapter happened in between these two events. That is no small matter. Let’s break down the lessons;

• Seek advice

First things first; seeking advice is good. The Bible admonishes Christians to take heed of instructions especially those from elders. The book of Proverbs is full of instructions to listen to advice.

Proverbs 20:18 (International Standard Version)

Make plans by seeking advice; make war by obtaining guidance.

Many lives have been wrecked by the lack of advice or ignorance of the same. Teaching on 10 Principles of Financial Freedom, I made a point; principle 7, ask for advice. At first I did not believe in winning the lottery until someone I knew won a million shillings. What amazed me was the story of the lady who won a million and her parents promptly took her out of her matrimonial home. A year or so down the line, the family was broke.

In another village, an old man sold a piece of land just before he died. The money landed in the hands of his son. It did not last a week. Why? In both cases the recipients of these monies had no idea what to do. Worse still, they never asked for advice.

• Three is a crowd

It is said “Two is a company, three is a crowd.” Whether that is true or not, there is a lesson that can be learnt. There is something like “over advising”. This is where one seeks advice from too many people than it is logically necessary. Asking advice from one person is good. Seeking a second opinion is also good. Going to the third person especially when the first two took you to different route is also good. Hitting number four is a little bit off. Asking the twenty third guy is way out of order.

Trust me, this is a mistake Joshua sought to correct. Joshua sent only two spies. Being a Moses trainee you would expect he follows after Moses’ footsteps. But on this he decided to do it his way. You see, while we may argue whether three is a crowd, there is no doubt about twelve being a crowd. Unless you are ready for chaos, ask for advice from twelve people.

Moses was poor in management, Jethro can confirm that. I would say he over spiritualized the task. How is that possible?

Let me give you an example. When electing the chairman of the building committee in a church, the pastor is right in emphasizing the need for a spiritual person. However, ignoring the requirement that the person ought to be well acquainted with building is probably a mistake. It can be remembered that when asking the believers to choose deacons, the apostles pointed two qualities; full of the spirit and wisdom.

Joshua realized that these people were not going to report to their respective tribes, they were going to report back to him. If that was the case, he did not need twelve voices, he only needed one. However, sending one person was not the wise thing to do. So he gave him company.

When asking for financial advice, do not ask twenty people or ask a hair dresser, ask a financial expert. When asking for advice or opinion about the girl you intend to marry, if you have to ask, do not ask five people. Just because he is your pastor does not make him competent on everything. Soon or later some of those people will misadvise you so that you do not get the girl. When you want to build a house, comparing prices with three contractors is okay. Asking for a bill of quantities from twelve contractors unless you are a government institution, I would say, is an excuse not to start the project.

Whatever the number of people you send to Canaan to spy the land, ultimately if you are Moses, you are the one who is going to make the decision on whether to go or not. The buck stops with you.

Moses seemed like a people pleaser. He cared so much what people said. When God was sending him to deliver the Israelites, his question was “what if the people do not believe me?” when God was about to destroy the Israelites for constantly rebelling against him, Moses’ quick response was, “what will the nations think?”

Joshua was different. He was independent and decisive. His “Me and my house we will serve the Lord” is one of the memorable and one of the most used and memorized verse in the Bible. That does not make Moses any less of a leader. He definitely had qualities Joshua did not have. The difference in the type of leadership of these two leaders comes out clear in the way they received their spies.

Numbers 13:26 (NIV)

They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

Joshua 2:23 (NIV)

Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened.

Both Moses and Joshua had their respective communities with them. Why the Bible decided to portray Moses receiving the news in the presence of Aaron and the whole community while portraying Joshua as being alone is a wonder, unless that is exactly what happened.

One of the steps of making a decision is making one. You can ask for all the advice. You can think about the matter through and through. You can look for the pros and cons, list them and compare them all you want. Ultimately the rubber has to meet the road, the axe has to come down, and the decision has to be made. Indecisiveness does not solve problems, it creates more.

• Depend on God

In the course of making a decision, one very important thing is often forgotten; the purposes of God. Many people miss it. They miss the fact that it is God that put them on this journey in the first place. God saw them through the Red Sea, the dry desert, the foodless wilderness. The question is, couldn’t he get them across Jordan and into Canaan? This is a question Moses did not ask himself.

With God’s opinion on your side, all other opinions take a second place. It is important that we trust God’s purposes and plans for us. Just as He assured Jeremiah He assures us of His great plans for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lords, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

8

CROSSING THE RIVER

After wandering in the desert for years, it comes a time when that has to stop; when a step has to be taken for people to get into Canaan. Just like we said in the last chapter, a decision has to be made. We cannot be in the desert forever. That is if we want to get into Canaan. There is that moment when one has to cross to the other side. The river changes everything. Life from there on will never be the same again. The fear of the unknown has a tendency of holding back people on the other side of the river.

This is when a businessman signs the loan papers and invests the money in his struggling company not knowing what will happen. After that refinancing there no pulling back, he’s got to make it work. The problem is, he will never know if it’s going to work or not unless he signs those papers. No amount of research, advice or consulting can do that.

There is no guarantee that kids are going to turn out great, yet that does not deter would be parents from having kids. They have to cross the river of having kids.

People do not realize that this is usually a risk. If you ask me maybe one of the biggest risks ever. One could never tell whether the kid is going to turn out to be Jesus of Nazareth, or Adolf Hitler, Barack Obama the first black president of the United States or Idi Amin Dada, the president Uganda would rather forget. Close to home, one can never tell if their bundle of joy would be number one in class or the village rogue; yet women get pregnant without even a thought.

The classic is marriage. They could be high school sweethearts, love at first sight, and the long engagement couple but come the wedding day, they still do not know each other. There is no guarantee that she is going to make a good wife or him a good husband. There is one thing we know though, whether the marriage is going to thrive or survive, there has to be a wedding.

The experimental “come we stay” marriages are just that, marriages; they can deceive themselves all they want. Talking of marriage, what makes proposing such a task; the same thing, no guarantee. You can’t tell whether she is going to say yes or no. It is like the “goods once sold never returned” policy I have lived knowing until I visited some countries. In the USA, one can buy a dress, wear it to a party and is still covered by the return deadline policy. It is getting popular in supermarkets and malls. In real life, there is no return policy. Guarantee or no guarantee, you have to cross the river, or the bridge as some would say.

Some would call it taking the risk. Calculated or not, they are all risks. Every step we make is a risk in itself. That is why it is futile to avoid taking one. The irony is that, not taking a risk is taking a risk. Just like what the adage says “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Waking up in the morning is a risk; you might get killed by a drunken motorist. Staying at home is a risk, a broken marriage, bankruptcy, obesity or just being buried alive should your house collapse. They sound extreme but they happen every day. Interestingly when they happen, they do not happen to people who had slept the previous day thinking tomorrow, “I am going to be buried alive by a landslide.”

The way I am putting it is creating the impression that crossing the river is a bad thing. It does not necessarily have to be. Crossing the bridge can be and is a good thing. Sometimes, being in a place where there is only one way to go is a good thing because you do not have to crack up your mind with deciding which way to go. It is like the decision has already been decided for you.

You can spend a lifetime deciding what car to buy. Once you buy it, you are in a way forced to stick with the decision unless loosing 100,000 shillings is not a problem. Choosing a wedding dress is a grueling exercise but once the bride has paid the down payment on one, even when she sees a better one, most brides won’t forsake the down payment and go for the

new one. The river has been crossed and now efforts are reserved to be used on other things.

This I call the moment of threshold. During my few trips abroad, I was aboard a plane when the pilot came up and greeted the passengers assuring and wishing them of a pleasant and safe flight. To a novice like me, I wondered who was “driving” the plane, if he was having his fun on this side! The truth of the matter was, at a certain point airplanes can literally “drive” themselves. At a certain point, which is called level flight the plane can travel at constant speed. The plane is able to remain airborne because the lift force is equal to the force of gravity.

There is a point in life either financially, spiritually or otherwise which when reached it is pretty much impossible to return. The book of Hebrews insinuates such a possibility;

Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)

It is impossible for those who have been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of God, and the power of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they have crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

I am not attempting to start a theological debate because, that would be going outside the principle of this book. None the less, the doctrine of Eternal Salvation envisioned by many denominational groups is based on the assumption that, once one accepts Christ there is no way Satan can get him back. The NIV Study Bible notes on 2 Peter 2:20-22 says, if the person has truly been regenerated, he would have persevered in his faith. It is argued that the teaching of John 10:27-30 makes it clear that, no genuinely saved person can be lost. Whether this is correct or not, the point I want to make is that there are places in life where once someone reaches, it in a way insulates them from going back.