Out Of The Rat Race

Out Of The Rat Race

“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of My people ... I have heard them crying out ... and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them.’” Exodus 3:7-8 NIV

The expression “the rat race” aptly describes the daily rush of the work world. The workers are viewed as rats, and their activity as a race fit only for rodents forever scurrying after something without ever getting it. While the comparison between rats and humans came from the research laboratory of the behavioral psychologist, the real origin of the rat race is the garden of Eden. There, the first bite of the forbidden fruit proved to be the symbolic ticket to enter the “cursed” and “painful” race where every succeeding bite would be hard earned in “toil” and “sweat” on a course of “thorns and thistles” (Gen. 3:17-19).

If Genesis presents the origin of the rat race, the beginning of Exodus gives us a picture of the rat race at its worst. Not only were the Israelites treated “ruthlessly” by the Egyptians, but also the harder they worked the more they were expected to do and the less they were given to do it with (Ex. 5:7-19). This bondage is a good description of what sin imposes on every man – a rat race that’s really a rat trap! The Israelites were slaves with no way out, until the God who chose them heard their groaning and provided a savior who could both defeat their captors and lead them into a new life in a new land.

Are you trapped in the world’s rat race? Does the description in Exodus sound too familiar? Do you want out? God has seen your misery, has heard your cry and has provided a way out of the rat race through our Savior, Jesus Christ. If you recognize your hopeless condition, He’s waiting to deliver you from the rat race of sin to a new life with Him. He’s seen your misery, He’s heard your crying out, He’s concerned about your suffering, and He’s come down to rescue you. Contact us if you want out of the rat race of sin. We can help.

By Larry Ondrejack