Breaking Out of Self-imposed Confinement

Becoming adapted to a specific lifestyle is normal for most people. Each person’s standards for living are set by late adolescence. There are special characteristics linked to a lifestyle that become so entrenched it takes a major crisis for change to take place.

As Christians, we should reject a lifestyle that’s rooted in antagonism and hatred because these emotions influence every major decision we make. Antagonism and hatred can leave us isolated and alone. Our focus should be on trusting the Lord Jesus to fulfill our needs based on his wisdom and kindness.

When Moses realized the distressed condition of the Hebrew people, he reacted impulsively, and out of fear he consequently confined himself to a self-imposed isolation for decades. God waited for Moses to mature so he could respond to the special calling God planned for him. If hatred has been a stumbling block for you, why not surrender it to Christ Jesus right now.  

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Each of you should go on living according to the Lord’s gift to you, and as you were when God called you.  

~1 Corinthians 7:17 Good News Bible

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Bad Choices and God's Redeeming Love

Periodically, our contentment is interrupted by unforeseen events that disrupt our peace of mind. Bad choices create unhappiness, so no one gets to pass through life free of hardships. For generations the Hebrew people living in Egypt had enjoyed prosperity, but then politics and power ended their peace and security.

Hardships can be invited into your life through self-imposed habits and a reckless lifestyle. Moses became a fugitive after killing an Egyptian and exiling himself in the desert of Median. His desert confinement severely limited the gifts and talents he had developed as a royal prince in the palace of the Pharaoh.

God decided that Moses had matured after his forty-year exile. He could now begin the work God planned for him. Moses would have concurred with the psalmist, "With love you embrace me, with honor you ennoble me, and with power you uphold me." These words are for you as you open your heart to God’s redeeming love.  

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But even so, you love me! You are holding my right hand! You will keep on guiding me all my life with your wisdom and counsel; and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven! Whom have I in heaven but you? And I desire no one on earth as much as you!

~Psalm 73:23-25 The Living Bible

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The Possibility of a New Beginning

Each phase of adult development holds within it the potential for change and growth or for stagnation and unhappiness. Motivation for a new beginning may hinge on unhappiness caused by stagnation or just the challenge to change one’s circumstances. So the desire for a new beginning can derive from either a positive or negative mindset.

Dissatisfaction equals unhappiness, which makes the potential for new beginnings more attractive. This was especially true for the Hebrew people in Egypt, whose presence there had changed from being honored guests to enduring unbearable slavery. In this position they persistently pleaded with God for deliverance.

God enlisted Moses, who was hiding in the desert of Median as a fugitive from Egyptian justice. However, he was still a prisoner of his own fear that stifled his gifts and talents. God promised the Hebrew people and Moses: “I will rescue you and set you free.” You can be freed today from sin or from whatever has imprisoned you by accepting God’s gift of salvation. 

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Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

~John 8:31-32 New Living Translation 

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