Exodus

“Rejection is God’s way of telling you that you weren’t supposed to be there in the first place.”

-Source unknown

I read a passage today that, although familiar to me, presented a new perspective on rejection and the longing for a past that wasn’t meant to be. It was Exodus chapter 12. For the first 11 chapters, God had been preparing Moses and his brother, Aaron, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt so they could worship Him. The brothers approached Pharaoh multiple times in these chapters, but he would not let them leave. Each time Pharaoh refused the request, God brought a plague on Egypt until Pharaoh relented, but then each time the plague lifted, Pharaoh went back on his word.

For the last plague, God allowed the death of all the firstborn of everything in Egypt from animals to sons, passing over the Israelite households, and Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go. Not only did he let them go, he drove them out! He said to Moses and Aaron, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go” (Ex. 12:31b-32, NIV). In other words, “Take your things and get out of here!”

The story doesn’t stop there because Pharaoh went back on his word again and chased the Israelites, resulting in the death of the Egyptian army as the parted sea washed over them, leaving the Israelites safe on the other side.

As I was contemplating this passage today, I thought about my own marriage and how I did not want it to end. I fought and fought, just as the Israelites fought Moses because, even though life in Egypt was tough, at least it was familiar. It has taken me a really long time to realize that being where you’re not really wanted is actually worse than starting over in a desert with no roadmap.

In many cases, people stay in a destructive marriage because it is too scary to leave, but eventually a lot of abusers will finally say, “Take your things and go!” However, that is also not the end of the story. When this happens, the abandoned person will find strength to move forward and eventually realize it was mercy for their spouse to leave or make them leave. We can’t see it through the pain of rejection, but over time God reveals the horrors of Egypt and the freedom we have on the other side of the sea. It is not what we would have chosen, but the Unintentional Product of rejection is often the realization of a better life because we weren’t supposed to be where we were in the first place.