Moses reminded the people once again of God's goodness and the imperative to remember that goodness and obey in order to hold on to the blessings God had given them.
When we are tempted to rely on our own strategies, rather than looking to God, as the Israelites no doubt were on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, we need to remember what He has brought us through. We need to remember the moments when God was all we had to hold on to, and He was enough. What precious memories - not everyone has that testimony. But for those who have relied on nothing less than a miracle of God, and have seen Him do just the miracle needed, those memories encourage and sustain us in times when we don't understand His plan.
Moses reminded the Israelites how God tested them in the wilderness to see if they would obey. But He was not testing them so that HE could see if they would obey. He already knew the answer to that question. Like a pre-test before the final exam, He was providing them an opportunity to see themselves. To see how prone they were to sin. To understand their need to constantly turn to God, rely on God, repent of their sin, and follow God.
Has God ever provided you such a pre-test? He has me. He has led me through situations where I thought I knew the outcome, and I had to come to grips with what it meant for my faith. Could I still praise the Lord if I lost something so dear? Would I still follow Him if it meant following Him through pain and suffering?
I praise Him that these tests proved to be just that - in the end, I did not lose what I feared losing. I didn't have to walk through the season of pain. Yet. But I praise Him even more that having faced those possibilities, He showed me that He would be faithful in them and I would still be able to cling to Him and trust Him.
When we are tempted to rely on our own strategies, rather than looking to God, as the Israelites no doubt were on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, we need to remember what He has brought us through. We need to remember the moments when God was all we had to hold on to, and He was enough. What precious memories - not everyone has that testimony. But for those who have relied on nothing less than a miracle of God, and have seen Him do just the miracle needed, those memories encourage and sustain us in times when we don't understand His plan.
Moses reminded the Israelites how God tested them in the wilderness to see if they would obey. But He was not testing them so that HE could see if they would obey. He already knew the answer to that question. Like a pre-test before the final exam, He was providing them an opportunity to see themselves. To see how prone they were to sin. To understand their need to constantly turn to God, rely on God, repent of their sin, and follow God.
Has God ever provided you such a pre-test? He has me. He has led me through situations where I thought I knew the outcome, and I had to come to grips with what it meant for my faith. Could I still praise the Lord if I lost something so dear? Would I still follow Him if it meant following Him through pain and suffering?
I praise Him that these tests proved to be just that - in the end, I did not lose what I feared losing. I didn't have to walk through the season of pain. Yet. But I praise Him even more that having faced those possibilities, He showed me that He would be faithful in them and I would still be able to cling to Him and trust Him.
RSS Feed