Deuteronomy 8:11-14 "Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage..."
We've got a bit of a longer passage today, but I encourage you to read it carefully. Let's break it down and analyze it a little bit. In these verses, God is giving us a solemn warning, signified by the term "beware". When anyone says beware, it's usually best to listen, but when the God of the universe says it, you absolutely better hold everything and pay attention.
So what is God warning us of? In verse 14, it tells us: the warning is against us becoming lifted up in pride and forgetting The Lord who has done so much for us. Wow. In the verses following, it lists some of the things that God has done for the children of Israel. Since we are applying it to ourselves today, let's list some of the things He has done for us.
Are you on your way to heaven? Has God given you a family and friends? Do you have a roof over your head, clothing on your back, and food to eat? Do you have a means of income, however small? Do you have a church? My guess is that most of us are blessed with all of this and a whole lot more. The God who gave us all these incredible benefits, and holds our very existence in His hands...surely we couldn't forget Him, right?! Obviously God would not be warning us against this grave sin unless it were possible for it to happen!
Now that we have established this, when are we in the most danger of falling into this trap? When bad things happen, maybe? Or when our pockets are empty and we don't know how we are going to pay the rent or buy dinner?
No.
No, this awful error of pridefully turning our backs on God will become a temptation in a completely different time. A time when everything is going our way! When we have lots of money in our checking account, delicious food overflowing the pantry and fridge, and extra time to spend vacationing, hanging out with friends, and relaxing. In short, when all is right with our world, so to speak.
In those great days, when the sun is sparkling down on us, is when God says to beware; to watch and be so cautious. Because it's at that time that we can become complacently lifted up in our own pride...we can begin to think that it's of our own goodness or strength that we were able to get these things! And from there, it is a slippery slope downhill. Eventually, we could be led completely away from following God, who is the One who poured these blessings on us in the first place! Oh what a black day it would be for a Christian to turn their back on God as they revel in His gifts!
So how can we fight against this happening to us? In the verse before this particular passage, it tells us: "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee." We combat the sin of unthankfulness and pride by blessing God's name! Every single day of our lives, whether we wake up to sunshine or rain, we need to be praising God for the blessings He has given us. I don't care how bad you think you have it, I can promise you that if you're God's child, He has not abandoned you, and if you look for it, you will see that you have so much more to be thankful for than you think! Be careful...be so, so careful to never stop worshipping at The Saviour's feet, whether your wallet is full or empty. Spend time in His Word, listening to what He has to say. Serve Him with your whole heart. And if He has you rich or poor physically at this time in your life, you can always become more rich in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving is coming up, what are you most thankful for? I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Mykaela
There's an old song that Bing Crosby sang in the movie Holiday Inn,it's called "I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For". Now,when Bing sings it in the movie he is definitely not being thankful, he's all sad because his girl is about to marry some other fellow who dances better than he does,but the words to it still popped into my head when I read your post!
ReplyDeleteWhat am I most thankful for? That's a very hard question to answer this early in the morning! We'll,let's start with some seemingly little things...I'm thankful for the extra hour of sleep I got.(This is the first time I've ever actually noticed a difference at Daylight Savings Time...I'm starting to see why my parents like "fall back" so much better than "spring forward"!)I'm thankful for this blog post,and others that were written recently to remind us to be thankful for everything. I'm thankful that it's the Lord's Day. I'm thankful that we're going to eat apple oatcakes. Im thankful for the bright sunshine peeking through the trees outside my window. And I'm thankful for so much more.. the blessings of salvation,grace, and God's infinite love.The wonders of His glorious creation,the constancy of His Word.My family,my big,messy family. Friends,the ones who truly care,the ones who point you to the best Friend. My warm,cozy yurt.(yes,yurt!!)
I could go on and on,but I'd better stop here for now. Thanks for the reminder to be thankful, Mykaela! Have a great day, y'all! Pretend you're Pollyanna and play the Glad Game! Thank the Lord for His abundant mercies!
Hi Jenny, thank you for all your lovely thoughts!! :) You write so well...you seriously should consider starting your own blog! Yes, the extra hour of sleep was fantastic last night, especially since we were travelling all day and I had to work on the computer for a while after that. Whew! All of your sweet praises brought a smile to my face. Thank you for being such a faithful reader and commenter!! (Even when I neglect to answer you! :/ ;)
DeleteThank you so much for the compliment,but I fear that I would have no idea how to do such a thing. My knowledge of the internet and technology as a whole is nearly nonexistent. As you know,my parents thought it best not to have internet access, or even a computer,at home with young children. It was only a couple years ago that I figured out how to order books online at the library,and only a couple months since I discovered the marvel of commenting on blogs. Though I'm progressing ,it would take quite a bit of doing for me to create a blog!
DeleteI'm so thankful to you,and Kimberly,for taking the time to consistently encourage others through your blogs,though! Keep it up!☺