You ALL are Awesome!!
Deuteronomy chapter 9.
What a great introduction to a movie or story. The opening scene of this chapter has a small nation looking at nations that are larger than themselves. Nations that are larger, greater, stronger and taller. And God, the general, says you are about to defeat all that is before you. The seemingly impossible situations are not impossible. Why aren't they impossible? Because God goes ahead of the smaller Nation and God is a devouring fire! He will destroy the enemies. God will subdue them. Israel will drive them out and annihilate them.
This is encouraging for my life. God is the one who goes before me and he will never leave me nor forsake me. He's a devouring fire. Great forests are destroyed by fire and God is that fire for the impossible situations before us. As we go into battle against the enemy forces of this world, although God goes before us, he still gives us responsibilities in the battle. We are not just to sit back, but we are to prepare for battle. Be equipped for battle. Be willing to get dirty in battle.
God says to Israel that after he has destroyed and subdued them that Israel will drive them out and annihilate them. Which shows me, we play a part in the battle. Then God says after he has driven them out….
How can I drive out the enemy and God drive out the enemy? Who's doing it? Me or God? Ultimately God gets the glory. God uses us. God is looking for those who are willing to be used by him. Then God will equip us and prepare us and empower us. God will lead us into the battle. Apart from God I can't do anything John 15:5-6. God gets the glory!
What are the battles we are facing and what are the battles ahead?
1. Trust God for he goes before us. Deuteronomy 31:8
2. Be prepared spiritually by being in God's word and through prayer.
3. Be prepared physically mentally and emotionally by getting rest and taking care of your body. Focus on truth and victory and not on lies and defeat.
4. Lean on the Holy Spirit to do the work through you. And when God works:
1. Stay humble and give him the glory.
2. Give God Praise and Thanksgiving.
3. Stay faithful and reliant upon him.
4. Don't let pride enter into your heart where you feel you no longer need God cuz you think can do it yourself.
V18 – Evidently Moses’ action in Exodus 32 where he ground the golden calf into powder wasn’t as immediate as it appeared – Moses fasted and prayed for another 40 days – interceding for Aaron and the people. God put this heart to intercede in Moses. It wasn’t anything Moses did on his own.
Moses lovingly but honestly reminds the people (and us) of the lessons to be learned from the generation that died off in the wilderness. Do what God has called you to do. Go where He has told you to go. Don’t say “later” or “as soon as …” or ”I like it here”. Don’t get comfortable in the wilderness. Step up. Step out. Go where you’re needed – there are jobs to do, battles to fight, people to touch.
Moses cautioned when you have eaten and are full, bless the Lord and beware of pride. Everything we have and all we enjoy is solely because of God’s grace – His unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. God gave us the ability to do what we do – to bless us with every single thing that we have.
Thank You, Father, for Your many blessings and lessons. Remind me not to get comfortable here, to listen and obey Your call each and every day. All the glory is Yours, Father.
Moses tells Israel that God is giving them victory not because of their own righteousness, but because God is driving out the wicked nations. Moses reminded Israel that they are a stiff-necked people. I was thinking about how this is the next generation that Moses was addressing now, but they still needed to be reminded about what happened to bring them to this point. They needed to know how faithful God was to their families while they certainly didn’t deserve His goodness.
Proverbs 15:29 tells us that the Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
I’m also reminded today of Titus 3:3-7. May we not forget all of the good things that God has done for us because of His kindness and love.
20 “And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. 21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.”
Two things stand out to me here. One, how Moses stepped in and prayed for the people and for Aaron. Are we praying for those in our lives who are struggling with sin? Are we interceding in prayer for them?
The second thing I noticed is how Moses destroyed their False. Burned it. Crushed it. Threw the powder into the stream.
That is how we need to remove sin in our life! Take extra steps to ensure we can eliminate the sin for good!