11/02/2026
You Cannot Live in Egypt and
Canaan at the Same Time
by Bishop A. Collins
“Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God.” - Jeremiah 11:4
One of the greatest challenges facing believers today is trying to enjoy God's promises while continuing to practice the world's habits.
In Jer 11:3-5 God is reminding Israel of the covenant which He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt and gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. The enjoyment of that covenant was predicated upon obedience to His authority.
God had delivered Israel from Egypt, but Israel still needed to get Egypt out of her heart.
Despite the suffering they experienced in slavery, the Israelites remembered the fish, cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic they enjoyed in Egypt (Numbers 11:5). They had forgotten the bo***ge but remembered the benefits.
And even after forty years in the wilderness, many carried their old attitudes, habits, and sinful practices into the Promised Land.
They had physically left Egypt, but Egypt had not completely left them. Unfortunately, the same thing happens to many Christians today. We receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, yet continue holding on to attitudes, behaviors, relationships, and habits that belong to our former way of life. We desire God's promises while resisting the changes necessary to walk in obedience to Him. But fellowship with God requires a willingness to live under His authority.
I have learned a principle over the years: Good habits are difficult to establish and easy to lose. Bad habits are easy to establish and difficult to break.
Jeremiah 13:23 asks whether a leopard can change its spots. The question illustrates humanity's inability to overcome deeply established sinful patterns through human effort alone.
Sinful habits become powerful because they appeal to our fallen nature. The longer we practice them, the more deeply they become embedded in our thinking and behavior. We cannot consistently practice sin and expect to overcome its influence simply by deciding to change.
Thankfully, God has not left us to overcome our sinful nature through our own strength. Through the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence and power, genuine transformation is possible. However, spiritual change does not always come quickly or easily. It requires surrender, obedience, discipline, and a continuing willingness to allow the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and renew our minds.
God didn't deliver Israel out of Egypt so they could just go on living as Egyptians. Likewise Christ did not redeem us so that we could remain in bo***ge to the very things which He came to deliver us out of.
We cannot fully embrace the new life Christ has given us while continually clinging to the practices of the old life.
Be careful what habits you establish, what attitudes you tolerate, and what influences you allow to shape your life.
Remember, God did not bring you out of Egypt so you could carry Egypt into your Canaan.
Collins Discipleship Institute Principle:
Deliverance changes our position, but discipleship transforms our condition. We must not allow the habits of our former lives to prevent us from experiencing the fullness of the life God has prepared for us.
Ad Gloriam Christi — For the Glory of Christ.
HOWICP