“But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, ‘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. [Deuteronomy 1.26-27]
The fallen nature of humanity is seen here in Israel.
No matter how many promises God had made, and no matter how many miraculous victories Israel had seen up to this point, they let new circumstances change their opinion of God.
And here we are in the twenty-first century - with all the Bible as our instruction and encouragement, and yet we still encounter difficult circumstances and immediately question God.
Can you see the problem with this?
God's Word should hold higher validity than anything in the world. It should be held in higher esteem than science, knowledge, technology, the weather, sickness... the list could go on and on. But do we hold the Word of God in such respect and awe? I think not. oh sure, we talk about it, but when circumstances arise, we immediately turn tail and run.
Instead of understanding our circumstances in light of what the Word teaches, we attempt to understand the Word in light of our circumstances! This is exactly what got Israel in trouble over and over. And, it is what holds the Church today in mocking powerlessness!
God is calling people to obedience today. He is calling them back to blind faith. He is calling His followers back to Christlikeness. He is calling the redeemed to say so, act so, and do so - so be it.
God TOLD Israel He would give them the Promised Land. They could have been there in eleven days! However, their disobedience stretched their "journey" to forty years (Deuteronomy 1.2-4). I put quotation marks around the word "journey" because it makes me wonder when we use the term describing our Christian walk if our journey is arduous because of our disobedience just like Israel.
God has TOLD us Promises about His care for us in this world (Matthew 6.33 and plethora of others), and yet we worry and labor to survive in this current day and age saying, "I know what the Bible says, but I have to make a living!" Or, "I know what the Bible says, but if I don't go to the doctor, I will die!"
When will we stop measuring God's Word by our circumstances instead of measuring our circumstances by God's Word?
I really had no intention of this little response being so pointed, but let it be what God wants it to be. May we consider our ways!
Father, help me to quit my reasoning and worrying and instead, simply trust You and Your Word!
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