There was a day in the history of Israelites in Egypt when a mother regretted having a baby boy.

“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” Exodus 1:22

If these newborns escape death, what awaits them is slavery. Forced labor of slavery will weaken a person’s (brain) ability to think and decide for himself/ herself.

“But one of the worst results of being a slave and being forced to do things is that when there is no one to force you any more you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself.” C.S. Lewis.

This is exactly what happened! When God asked Moses,

“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites” Numbers 13:2

They went and explored… and cried out loud,

“If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” Numbers 14:3

And God replied:

“How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say” Numbers 14:27

The people of God were dwelling in the past! They had painful experience when they had their newborns killed and thrown into Nile. They experienced years and years of poverty, living in Shanty slave settlements while building amazing mansions and cities for their masters. Their life was full of controversy and paradox, their CV was full of hard work rewarded by demotion and persecution!

So when God took them to the Promised Land, they saw all the good things about the land. But they couldn’t see themselves living there as free men! They were prisoners of their past. They were seeing the world through a lens called the past!

Oh how sad! Because they chose their dwelling… to live in the past, God let them live in the past! Because they had failure mentality even when God was ready to give them victory, they failed.

What is your daily choice these days?

“All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt… So he raised their sons in their place…” Joshua 5:5,7

Then God looked for a generation that is free of the prison called the past! So he found them they were 2 + many. The 2 were those who broke the prison of the past, their name was Joshua and Caleb. They were slaves at first, but refused to let their past limit them from their future.

Oh God help us to refuse what we should refuse!

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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.” Isa 43:18 – 19

We may have experienced demotion, rejection, unfaithfulness, abuse, pain… these experiences may limit us from listening to the Lord, because we find it hard to trust anyone (including God).

THINK ABOUT IT... do you trust God and take a step of faith? Like Joshua and Caleb who were exceptional... who were successful in prison break... Do you trust God and take a risk?

"Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun" Numbers 14:30

We need a prison break!

Break from the thought patterns of the past that limit us from embracing the future in the name of Jesus! May God make you exceptional in taking a leap of faith from any prison of a bad past encounter.

Say Amen...

(... and keep on thinking... where you are? where is your dwelling? do you still dwell in the past?)