Exile always follows a Crash and Burn
exile always follows a crash and burn experience
This post continues my series on how to recover from a crash and burn.
“Exile” is a metaphor for the place you end up after a crash and burn experience. It’s the place in between your failure and your recovery. Exile is the experience of loss after a personal failure or setback.
For example, in the Bible, the Israelites experienced a crash and burn experience when they disobeyed God and God sent them into exile to live in a foreign country (Babylon) for 70 years.
It’s ancient history, yes. But it’s relevant to anyone who fails miserably and ends up on the sidelines of life. There are lessons to be learned from them.
No one wants to wind up in exile. It might be a treatment center. It might mean a divorce or being unemployed. But if you want to regain your life you have to start in exile.
exile is a valuable step in the recovery process
Exile gives you perspective after a crash and burn.
It’s interesting how much we often learn once we get some distance from an event. For example, when the Jews were sent into exile they suddenly realized all that God had done for them through the years. They began to realize how they took God and his care for granted. Exile gave them new eyes to see how good they had it before.
You know the saying…you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
You don’t appreciate your parents until you move across the country to college or your first job.
You don’t appreciate your job until you get laid off.
When you lose something you often appreciate it more. You understand it better. You get perspective. It brings clarity to your thinking.
Exile shifts your reliance to God from other people or things.
Exile is any place that’s outside of your comfort zone. The Jews were out of their comfort zone in Babylon. The were in a foreign land with people who didn’t speak their language… people who had different customs… a different god. They only had their God and each other to turn to. It was disorienting.
It’s the same for us. When you crash and burn some people leave you. You can’t lean on them anymore. When you crash and burn you might not be able to turn to your favorite vice to ease the pain. You are cut off from your typical “go-to” resources. This is why some people turn to God when they hit bottom.
Exile caused many Jews to turn back to God. That’s what God wants us all to do in exile…start to trust him in ways we never have before.
The message God has for us is...THIS time around put me first in your life so this doesn't happen again.
To learn more about exile and how to recover from it, check out my book, “Return from Exile.” (see below)
Question: If you've gone through an exile, what did you learn?
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