Who ever thought we would find so much in the Old Testament to apply to our post-modern lives! God's Word is truly living and active.
Deuteronomy 28--The word that jumps off the page at me over and over again is ALL. We are to fully and carefully follow ALL God's commands. I don't know about you, but that leaves me out of the blessings group. Did you notice how much longer the list of curses is than the list of blessings? God is serious when He says to obey His commands.
But when I read the list of blessings, I realize that I am blessed! I am blessed in the city and blessed in the country, etc., etc. So, how does that happen when I clearly miss the mark daily and fall into temptation often? Why do I enjoy blessings when others around me find their lives falling apart from time to time? I don't have a complete answer to that question because God's ways are higher than my ways, and only He knows and understands why He chooses to bless some and not others. I do know that I try to follow as closely to God's commands as humanly possible. I had Christian parents and grandparents who prayed for me and taught me to obey God's Word. I married a godly man, and we keep one another accountable before God. I seek to listen and obey the Holy Spirit whenever I hear His voice (and it has taken lots of years and spiritual discipline to recognize His still, small voice). I have a thankful heart, and even when things go wrong, I am seeking God's face and asking what He has in store for me to learn. My goal is to make decisions that glorify God alone, and I ask for His help and wisdom almost every moment of the day. "Jesus help me," is my mantra. When I am old and in the nursing home, no one will be able to communicate with me because I will only be able to repeat over and over, "Jesus help me!"
If you find yourself feeling as though you are part of the cursed group, earnestly pray and ask God to show you what command He wants you to obey, no matter how small a thing it may seem to you. I have found that obeying God in the smallest matters grows my faith tremendously in the important matters of life. Ask God how you can become "the head and not the tail" (vs 13 & 44). I do not want the curses to become signs and wonders to me and my descendants (vs 45-46). I do not want God to give me an anxious mind or to live a life of weary longing, despair, suspense, and dread (vs. 65-66). I want to enjoy every moment of every day, not wish for a new day to arrive (vs. 67).
Okay, that's enough food for thought. I'll end this here and pick up the rest of Deuteronomy on a new post.
Love and prayers! Dana
I should be getting to bed but I also feel very blessed! verse 9 reminds me that if I walk in the Lords ways the rest of the world will see it! verse 13 continues to remind me to PAY ATTENTION and carefully follow the Lords commands and I will ALWAYS be on top.
ReplyDeleteAs the chapter continues with all of the curses I just can't help but think about the United States and the many woes facing us as a nation and wonder how different things might be if more people would pay attention and follow the Lords commands? We all just want what is coming to us and boy are we getting it.
Lord, please keep me from a feeling of entitlement. When I follow you, Lord, I am truly blessed.
I can hear my favorite teacher Mrs. Minns in her gruff voice saying, "Pay attention, class!" The students who obeyed were her favorites too. The students who didn't obey were always in for recess. I want to be at the top of God's class, not the bottom.
ReplyDeleteI agree that our Nation is in a time of testing. We must pray daily for those in authority that they will seek godly counsel and make decisions that glorify the One True God, as our founding fathers intended. I had an email from my brother-in-law, who is an officer in the Navy. He commented that our government is taking care of his needs. I pray that our next Commander in Chief will continue to support those who are fighting to protect our freedoms. Whether we agree with the foreign policy or not, we must take care of those who sacrifice their own needs to secure the needs of others.
I am struggling with these verses. I know that when I'm obeying Him, then I look more to the blessings I have, but I still have a lot of what seems to be curses too. I try and try to do what He wants me to do and it doesn't seem that I am having any relieve from my enemies. It seems like to me that my enemies just continue to get all the blessings, especially right at this point in my life. Why is God not punishing those people (who are my enemies and aren't obeying Him)? I know I'm whining, but that question just keeps coming back to me. God is very clear on what He will do if you obey and disobey, but why does it not seem to be going that way in certain people's lives?
ReplyDeletemmms I understand where you are coming from, however I do not have any answers for you. I can tell you however, that some of the happiest times in my life have also been the hardest times. I look back on the times when my husband and I were almost killed in motorcycle wrecks, and we lost everything (our home, our vehicles, the motorcycles etc...) however our faith and belief in
ReplyDeleteGod remained, and he allowed our family to stay alive and together. Sometimes I think that God allows trials to come into our lives to bring our focus back on him and away from our worldly goods.