Where does backsliding start?
According to the Bible, it starts in our thought life! A clear example of this is found in the Old Testament. After the Israelites escaped the cruel treatment of the Egyptian slave masters, who “made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar” (Ex. 1:11-14), they actually wanted to return! How could they believe they were better off to return to such a lifestyle as that (Num. 11:18)? The answer is found in the thoughts they pondered of the so-called “good” times they had in Egypt! In Numbers 11:5,6 we read of the thoughts they pondered: “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” The devil reminded them of only the good tasting food of Egypt, but not the severe oppression and bitter lives they had. They lost sight of the Promised Land because they focused their thoughts on the present hard circumstances and past fond memories of their forme
