As I was reading through the Old Testament chapters today I was reminded how important it is to walk in close relationship with God. Listen for His instruction and obey!
‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’ Deuteronomy 1:20-21
Instead of pushing boldly ahead, confident in his directions from God that he shared in these verses, Moses listened to the people and sent in scouts to check the land out first. Of course, we read that they come back afraid of what they've seen, knowing that they cannot over take these people.
‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’ Deuteronomy 1: 27-28
And God knew this - He knew that they could only overcome them with His power and I wonder if that's why He wanted them to just move forward in faith and occupy the land. He knew that if they saw what they were up against, they would fall back in fear and lose faith.
How often do we hesitate in our obedience to God because we need to "research" or "plan" or "study" or whatever else we think we need to do to equip ourselves instead of walking forward confidently, relying on God's strength. This reinforces for me the importance of living a life in close relationship with Him. So I trust that I am hearing His voice of when to move, when to study, when to wait etc. The only way I can do this is through an intimate relationship with Him!
2 comments:
Good point, we need to trust in Him only, and not in ourselves or human wisdom. It takes a lot of faith to walk blindly, trusting in God alone, but that needs to be our goal, to trust in Him alone.
So important to be reminded of the past - of our times of disobedience and faithlessness, of times of blessing through obedience and faith, and of God's steadfast faithfulness through it all.
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