In today’s reading we heard the Israelites complaint to Moses: “Why did you do this to us?  Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone.  Let us serve the Egyptians.’ Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”  (Exodus 14:11-12)

The path of following the Lord appears hard to us. We hold onto the comfort of our slavery to money, power, prestige, and sensual pleasures.   It is part of our human nature, our human struggle.  We fear the act of surrendering to the Lord.  We want to be in control of our destiny.

We do not want to acknowledge that God has provided us what we have.  Whatever we possess (be it one dollar or billions of dollars) is nothing in comparison to what the Lord offers to those who surrender themselves to him. The Lord calls us to follow him, but like the poor rich man, we turn our backs, tell the Lord, “Leave me a alone,” and walk away sad and fearful of giving up what we have for a far getter treasure.

The Lord remains ever faithful to his promise.  We too must remain faithful and hope with endurance.  Like the wondering of the Israelites in the desert or those who followed Christ on His journey to Calvary, our journey with the Lord may be long, the pathway filled with challenges and hardships, the rewards glorious and eternal, and filled with awe, wonder, miracles and encounters with Lord God.