Deuteronomy 8:1-20


Knowledge brings responsibility, and God had given the children of Israel a unique knowledge of Him and His commandments.  Since they knew the commandments of God, they were required by God to keep these commandments.  The results of obedience would be great blessing; however, the results of rebellion would be discipline.  Revelation is a blessing and discipline is a blessing because they are both designed to help us enjoy our lives in ways that honor the Lord.  Satan tries to convince us that disobedience and sin will bring us joy, but just the opposite is true; any pleasure that accompanies sin is passing and only ends in great heartache.  True and lasting joy is only found in trusting and obeying the Lord.  He knows us for He has created us and His will is always what is best for us.

WE MUST PROTECT OUR HEARTS FROM REBELION: God’s revelation to us implies a greater responsibility to Him.  The natural bent of our hearts is to rebel against any rules that are given to us because, in reality, we want to be the gods of our own lives.  We do not naturally like being told what we can and cannot do.  God warns us not to give into this rebellious nature because it only brings us greater heartache and pain.  God had promised a good and prosperous land to the children of Israel.  This abundant provision was conditional upon the people’s obedience to His commands.  God cannot bless rebellion because it would only encourage further rebellion and end up causing greater pain.

WE MUST PROTECT OUR HEARTS FROM PRIDE: One of the great dangers associated with the blessing of God is that it can easily begin to produce pride in the lives of the people who are being blessed.  Peace and prosperity are often the predecessors of pride.  I think that gratitude and praise are the best prevention of pride in our lives.  Pride can easily cause us to stray from the will of God and forget out dependence upon God and will eventually lead us away from God.  Pride can quickly turn prosperity into poverty and peace into war.  Pride can cause the blessings of God to turn into curses because they have to opposite effect that God intended.  God blesses us so that we will enjoy the privilege of worshiping Him.  When we allow the blessing of God to build pride in our lives we begin to worship our own comfort and pleasure instead of God.  May God grant us the wisdom and ability to protect our hearts from pride in times of prosperity and fill our hearts with humility that we might experience to joy of living for God’s glory.

Comments

  1. the RobinsonsAugust 16, 2012 at 9:51 AM

    You wrote "in reality, we want to be the gods of our own lives." How true, how sad.
    I wish this were true only of the non-believer or a "backslider, but sadly enough I see this at work in my own life.
    Thanks for the encouragement in the battle!
    In His Love,
    Charlie

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