I was reading Deuteronomy 7 this morning, and I learned some huge things…
In Deut 7 Moses is instructing the Israelites on the Law of God once they enter into the Promised Land. And guess what…Moses knew he’d never see the Promised Land. But that didn’t stop Him from being faithful and obedient to God.
It challenged me to confront my motivations for obedience. Am I obedient to God so that I’ll “get something out of it?” Or am I obedient because He is worthy of my life to be a living offering?
Another thing I learned was that the Promised Land wasn’t an empty, uninhabited land they would just stroll into. Moses said that there were nations that were greater and mightier than them that God would hand over for the Israelites to destroy.
I realized that in all this talk about God having the victory, we can easily forget that He’s invited us to participate in the battle. I want to remember that we can engage with battles that are greater and mightier than us because we know that they’re not greater and mightier than God- our confidence in Him and His victory is what fuels our participation in the hard things.
This last part is possibly the best part. Moses said to them: you will be unable to defeat them all at once. He told them they would defeat their enemies LITTLE BY LITTLE. Sometimes to our frustration, this is the way God often works in our life. He clears things away little by little even though we might prefer it all at once. But God wanted Israel to grow spiritually in the process of taking the Promised Land, just as He wants us to grow spiritually in the process of sanctification. Our entire lives are our journey through the wilderness until we meet Him face to face in the eternal Promised Land. And I am so thankful and deeply settled in peace that His way has always always always been little by little.
