IT'S NOT ABOUT US

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?" But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. Deuteronomy 9:1-6

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Why do things happen to us in certain ways? Often times, this is a question that seldom has easy answers, although sometimes we try and make them easy…wanting to reason everything to our liking.

And when things happen to us or others, we also hear people say things like, “How could that happen? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” Maybe you have asked that or heard someone else ask it.

My reply when I get asked that question is this and I think we can see the premise for it rooted in the scripture for today. For in response to the question, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”, I always ask, “Who is good?” Now that might sound harsh but sometimes the truth hurts. Who is good? Are we not all sinners that fall way short of the grace of God? Who can stand and demand anything from God because of their righteousness. No one can. Yet, we still try. Because, like Israel, we are a stiff-necked people.

In our passage for today, Israel is being told what they will face as they “cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger…with large cities that had great “walls up to the sky.” And the people they would face, the Anakites, were “strong and tall”, leaving those who would oppose them to ask, “Who can stand up against the Anakites?" Moses had one answer for that question: God.

For Moses reminds Israel, “…be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them (the Anakites); he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.” God would go ahead of them and subdue the enemy before Israel even got to them. This would assure them victory. But Moses also added a warning. For there was a caution required for what was about to take place.

This caution dealt with Israel getting the wrong idea about why God was driving out their enemies. Let’s revisit the scriptures:

“After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you…Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Moses makes it very clear to Israel that their enemies aren’t being driven out because they were righteous. No, their enemies were being driven out because those enemies were evil and wicked. God doesn’t honor evil, wicked people…those who are living in sin. The only way a person would be exempt from God’s wrath and judgment is if they were perfectly righteous and no one is that. Why? Be cause Israel…and everyone after them…have been stiff-necked …stubborn…too resistant to surrender their sinfulness for righteousness. Again, who is really good?

Friends, today’s scripture intends to keep us humble…ever mindful that we are undeserving of God’s grace, mercy, favor and love. And yet, He still cares for us with all these things and so much more because we are His children. Anything good that comes to us is strictly from His blessing, providence and provision…not because we have somehow done a deed that deserved reward. It’s not about us. It’s all about God.

So keep in mind where you stand with Him…stay humble before the One who gave His Son as a living sacrifice to pay the price for our sins…and surrender your stubbornness in exchange for a consistent drive toward righteousness and holy living. We will never be perfect but we simply must strive toward that goal, using Jesus as our model and the Holy Spirit as our guide…each and every day. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com