Every time I hear the word exile, I am reminded of the nation of Israel. God’s own chosen people and nation who had seen Him display His power to save them from pharaoh through the mighty showdown of the 10 plagues of Egypt. Not only that, but they got to see the Red Sea split and the waters separate so that they could walk on dry land, yet the same waters swallowed Pharoah and his army as they came riding so that they can bring the Israelites back into captivity. But God didn’t stop there, did He? As they walked in the desert, God sent them a pillar of cloud to guide them during the day and a pillar of fire to give them light during the night. Can you imagine that? What an incredible sight to behold even thinking about it gives me chills because it makes me realize just how much God cares for His people. But guess what? The spectacular miracles didn’t stop there. When they were thirsty, God gave them water from a rock, like bro word? Yes bro, water coming from a rock! Call me a fanatic for Christ, but these are the things that keep proving how much power God has.
God didn’t stop there He gave them what in my opinion is the most incredible miracle in their desert wonderings. When they wondered what they would eat, God provided food that kept appearing every morning without fail and all they needed to do was pick it up! It was the exact replica of the animation “cloudy with a chance of meatballs,” but now in real life. And even when they complained that the food had become “boring” in their own terms, God added meat onto their diet. The most incredible part of this miracle was that they had the same food every single day for 40yrs, it had all the nutrients they needed for their bodies and no one ever died because of malnutrition. This was incredible.
The saddest part of their story however, is that they still disobeyed God and they did it in the worst scenario possible – they started worshipping other gods. Like how do you do that? You have seen what God did for you but here you are bowing before a useless idol that is made of wood and stone? How? Make it make sense? And because of their constant disobedience, they were taken into exile for 70yrs. Well, truth be told, we are no different from the Israelites and I say this because we too have disobeyed God one too many times, it’s just that we haven’t gone into a physical country called Babylon but we’ve exiled ourselves in our own prisons.
The first form of exile is when a believer drifts away from their close fellowship and relationship with God and it could be they had very valid reasons. Maybe they have lost a loved one and they can’t seem to make sense of life anymore, wondering how they will cope with everything as it is! The heartache, the pain and agony of living without your loved one can be very devastating to say the least and majority of people get lost here. Instead of allowing God to heal their brokenness, they distance away from Him thinking He doesn’t care. Others have drifted because the hardships became ‘too much,’ and when the fire kept getting hotter, they took the bait. They stopped praying and reading their Bibles, stopped going to church and wanted nothing to do with Christianity. Psalms 34:18 reminds us that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” and Joshua 1:9 reminds us God’s words, “have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The next form of exile is where people become successful in life. When the money starts pouring in and the success keeps elevating and they see as if they made it all by themselves – they call it “self-made.” They indulge in pleasures beyond their wildest imaginations and have relationships they shouldn’t be having. Some have left their families who stood with them as they climbed up the ladder and are now joined by side chicks or the ben 10’s who only suck the living off everything they have. When it gets here, then my dear brothers and sisters, you’ve allowed your success to become your idol and you’ve exiled yourself there. Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us, “remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant, He confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.” That said, my dear beloved you are not self-made, you are successful and wealthy because God made it possible for you and when you think that its money that got you those connections, your blinded from the truth. It was God who was with you from the beginning and it is He who will be with you until the very end. So, ask yourself, have you exiled yourself into the pleasures of this world? Money, success, pleasure, power and relationships that you shouldn’t be having? Remember the words of Paul in Romans 12:2, “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.”
The next form of exile is one that is well absorbed in our current times, cultures and generation. The pressure to compromise our Biblical convictions so that we can “fit” into society is real. You become embarrassed to say you’re a Christian in front of your friends, workmates or crowds for the sole reason that people will see you as different. But aren’t we supposed to be different so that we are the “light” of this dark world as per Matthew 5:14-16? Many people have exiled themselves into all sorts of addictions, drugs, pornography, vaping, masturbation the list is endless. And once you become “addicted,” it becomes so hard to get yourself out – your hooked all because you were too embarrassed to say no to the pressures of life and you compromised just to fit in. Eventually, you exile yourself into a prison that now seems very hard to get out off. However, remember the words of Jesus in John 8:36 “so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
The next form of exile is one that we don’t get to choose from but somehow gets to us in one way or the other. Believers all over the world have faced rejection, isolation, persecution and even spiritual discouragement at some point in their lives. Sometimes rejection doesn’t come from people we don’t know, it comes from the very ones we know and love. Some of you were rejected by your parents from an early age and growing up you’ve kept wondering what you could possibly have done wrong for that to happen? Others were rejected by their husbands or wives for another woman or man and the persistent question has been, “what do they have that I don’t,” and that can really trouble someone and take them into an exile of self-abandonment and low self-esteem because you feel you’re not enough. For some it was isolation from your friend’s group and you were labelled as ‘boring,’ and ‘not adventurous.’ This mind state can make someone do something they don’t want so that they can ‘fit in.’ if you’ve faced rejection or isolation, remember the words of the Psalmist in psalm 27:10 “though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”
Persecution is yet another form of exile that some believers have found themselves in, a situation they didn’t want to be in, but it happened and they are now facing spiritual discouragement. It could be because the country they reside in doesn’t allow Christianity or a case of what we now see whereby believers are being taken to court because they have publicly talked against the LBGTQ community. Yet when unbelievers talk negatively against Jesus Christ or salvation, it’s not a big deal and nothing happens to them. We live in a world whereby reading your own Bible in public could land you in problems. This type of exile is one that believers don’t have a choice in but it can bring in discouragement and fear. However, remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:10-12 “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Living holy lives in ungoldy environments is yet another form of exile. Yes I know the Bible tells us to ‘submit God, resist the devil and he will flee from you,’ but sometimes the devil is in the very details that you are facing and living with. A child living in a home whereby both physical and emotional abuse are part of their daily life, where do they run to and to whom do they run to because those meant to protect them, have violated them? Ungodly environments isn’t just about the vises of the world and what they can do to believers if they aren’t careful, but also environments where believers are supposedly supposed to be protected but they aren’t. Ungodly environments can also be where husbands abuse their wives phsically, emotionally or even financially. This has been a form of exile for many people all over the world and the reason they still stay is because of their children, wanting them to have a stable family. However, what they don’t realise is that the same children they are trying to protect, are learning from the same toxic environment they are growing up in and in the future if not careful, they may repeat the same cycle and pattern. David reminds us in psalms 9:9 “the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
If you’ve read upto here am sure your wondering, ‘Oh My, I have been living in exile and I didn’t know anything about it,’ yeah, that’s why knowledge is power. Just because you’ve exiled yourself or you’ve found yourself in a form of exile you have no control over, doesn’t mean it’s the end for you. That’s why I love this ending…. But God! Because when everything else has failed, Jesus Christ has never and will never fail. Through Him you can not only receive salvation, reconcilliation to your Heavenly Father but also forgiveness for your sins. The exiles and cares of this world can be preety draining and majority of people walk around carrying such a heavy bag filled with their sins, but when Jesus takes up His position in your heart, soon you start feeling lighter and lighter. You become spiritually aware of the exiles that may trap you if your not careful, you forgive people who have hurt you badly and heal from their abuse and hurt. Next, you not only have renewened fellowship with Jesus, but all the people around you and this is because your faith and hope has been renewed. Only Jesus Christ can do this.
Finally, if you find yourself living in exile, call upon His powerful Name and ask Him for help. I guarantee you He will be there before you even finish the sentence, flash has nothing on Him my peeps. He’s been waiting for you to make that decision all your life. Yes life will be tough, but with Jesus, you can make through all of life’s hurdles because He is your Shepherd.
God bless you.
Food for thought? Have we become so comfortable with the ways of modern-day Babylon that we no longer recognize how far we may have drifted from God’s ways? As a christian today, the encouragement is to remain faithful, repent and trust God even when life feels unfamiliar.
