Have to Go

Numbers 14:1-4 NRSV

“Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.”

I found it so interesting that even after Moses had led the people out, and that the spies brought back a good report of a land fertile, but a bad report of the size of the inhabitants, that the people grumbled again. They listened to the wrong report. Momma used to say “You don’t change horses in the middle of the stream.”  The Israelites wanted to go back into captivity. Come on. But sometimes what is familiar feels safer than the unknown. The thing about it is that we can’t stay captive to our own fears, our own trials. We can’t stay, can’t go back, we must go forward. That is where our freedom is. Have you seen the movie “Harriet”? You saw her, “Moses” freeing the slaves. They couldn’t stay, couldn’t go back, had to go forward. Even now, whatever is binding us -we can move forward, we must move forward. Why would we want to be held down? We must keep on keeping on. enough for now.