Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember that the Lord your God led you all the way . . .
REMEMBER THE LORD . . . IN YOUR PAST
I can imagine what those Israelites were remembering as they heard Moses' words there on the plains of Moab. They remembered that detestable bread -- that manna they had to eat every day. They remembered the long walks -- having to pick up and move at a moment's notice, whenever the pillar of cloud moved from one location to another. They remembered the times when the water was bad and when they were plagued by poisonous snakes.
Human nature hasn't changed a whole lot, has it? As we go about taking some time this week to remember things in our past year, we too are quick to remember the bad -- the accidents, the bad weather, the lost job, the water in the basement.
Listen to what Moses directed them to remember instead. "Remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness . . . Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these 40 years . . ." He encouraged them to see the Lord in all that had happened in the past -- to see that whether it was "good" or "bad" in their eyes, the Lord had turned it all for their good.
So how has your last year been? Don't you find that there is plenty there to be thankful for -- that God has done what He promised in seeing to it that "all things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose?"
Martin Luther put it well when he said: "We must constantly keep a catalog of God's blessings near our eyes, the natural and physical blessings as well as the spiritual blessings; for then we shall see that, where there is a drop of misfortune, there is a whole ocean of God's blessings to outweigh it."
