"Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." (Exodus 1:8)

Sometimes the place of "blessing" is the worst place for us.

In the early chapters of Exodus, after 400 years in Egypt, the people of Israel are portrayed as abundantly blessed. The Nile made life easy -- for them and all of Egypt. The fertility of the land led to fattened cattle, rich harvests, and full bellies.

And Israel didn't only soak up the river's riches, but Pharaoh's favor. The supreme governing authority, each successive Pharaoh from Joseph's day, had treated Joseph's people well.

But, one day, "there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). It feels like the worst of developments. It wasn't. It was good medicine. As the new Pharaoh's persecution was unleashed, so were the long-dormant prayers of God's people. Without the favor of the governing authorities, Israel cried out for the favor of God.

All this occurred before the great exodus, the rescue of God. He would deliver them from Egypt, give them the glorious law of Sinai, and take them into the promised land. In leaving Egypt's ease, they would enter the truly blessed life.

Sometimes ease kills us. Sometimes what feels like "blessing" is destroying us from within. Sometimes a lack of pressure makes us soft. Sometimes, just as was the case with Israel, God must move us on.

And sometimes he will drive us forward to the true blessings of life, the promised lands found in him.