The children of Israel had just watched the God of their fathers decimate Egypt in ways unimaginable. They had just followed that pillar of cloud by day and been protected by that pillar of fire by night. They had just seen the waters of the Red Sea parted. They had walked across on dry ground. They had seen the armies of Pharaoh perish in the waters they had just passed through. They had sung and danced before the Lord.

“Lord, who is like You among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand, and the earth swallowed them. With Your faithful love, You will lead the people You have redeemed; You will guide them to Your holy dwelling with Your strength.” (Exodus 15:11-13, CSB)

And yet.

They faced the wilderness.

Three days with no water.

And when at last they came to water, it was bitter.

After such an incredible deliverance, they found that the world was still broken.

Their way was not going to be easy just because they followed the Most High.

“The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and He tested them there. He said, ‘If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in His sight, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord Who heals you.” (Exodus 15:25-26, CSB)

The Lord Who heals you.

And yet.

They were still in the desert. Next they would complain about having no food, and God would rain down manna and quail.

An incredible deliverance, an amazing promise, and yet they were still in the wilderness.

There were dangers and discomforts and troubles all around them.

The world was still broken.

I read this story with my boys during Bible time this morning, and it was so fitting for me.

Thousands of years later, the world is still broken.

And there is only so much we can do to mitigate that brokenness.

We want to be healthy. We want to choose well. We want to be informed. We want to protect our children.

And yet.

The world is broken.

A few days ago, I logged out of my Instagram account. I turned off the Instagram phone (yeah, we have Instagram on a separate phone; don’t ask). I put the phone in a box and the box on a shelf.

Instagram has been incredibly helpful to me in all things health and wellness. I have learned so much from some really encouraging and informative accounts on there. I’ve made small changes through the years that make me feel like I’m doing right by my family in this broken world we live in.

And yet.

The world is broken.

There are new toxins to read about every day. New studies. New revelations. More ways to be healthy. More ways to protect your family.

And yes, more things to fear.

And all of a sudden, it was just too much.

My peace of mind wasn’t what it used to be. Instead of learning and being renewed in knowledge, it was tearing me down inside.

So many things to watch out for. So many things to do differently. So many things to fear.

The knowledge, the feeling that the entire world is toxic and I can never do everything right or do enough things to keep us safe, the worry and the wondering . . .

It got to be too much.

So I turned off that main flow of information, at least for a while.

We are filtering our air; we are keeping tabs on what’s in our water; we are buying healthier snacks and eating home-cooked food; we take good supplements; we spend time outside; we limit screen time; we use clean cosmetics and nontoxic cleaning products and have for years now; we turn off our wifi at night; we get intentional exercise; we try to make good dental choices and are working to remedy some of the bad choices we made before we knew better. We are doing many things right, and for now it has to be enough.

It is enough.

The world is broken. We can never mitigate every disaster. We can never eliminate every toxin.

And instead of living in fear, we can lift our heads and walk through the wilderness with the Lord Who heals.

The same God Who led the children of Israel through a wilderness fraught with trouble can also lead us through a world fraught with trouble, whatever form that trouble might take.

He is the Lord Who heals and the God Who redeems.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.” (Isaiah 26:3, KJV)