Sometimes during a stressful day I think back to the old ad – Calgon take me away!

The pitch plays on my desire to escape the frustrating circumstances of life, an impulse that emerges in all of us from time to time.

Jeremiah faced a crowd looking to escape. A band from Judah, looking to flee to Egypt for safety and peace, came to Jeremiah for advice. Jeremiah inquired of the Lord on their behalf and received this message in return—they shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring—Egypt was a trap.

They skipped down south anyway and suffered terrible consequences. Why did they even ask?

This story makes me wonder—what is my Egypt? Where do I look to escape when the challenges of life press in? What appears on the horizon of my mind, beckoning me in its direction? New stuff? New job? Binging on TV or food or drink? Mirages tantalize my tired hopes and pull me towards desert spaces.

One thing I’ve noticed is that my problems tend to follow me, because I’m the source of most of my problems. No matter where I’m at, it’s usually better to work things out with the Lord than run away.

But nothing wrong with a bubble bath along the way.

Jeremiah 42 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Cristian Palmer