Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 1-5; Psalm 107

Have you ever anticipated something for a long time? Then you get to that moment and someone makes you pause for a moment of reflection. Have you felt the anticipation of what is about to happen and the anxiety of something delaying that moment you have been waiting for? It’s Christmas morning, but wait — the Christmas story hasn’t been read yet. You have arrived at the amusement park and you can hear the screams of those who are already on the roller coaster, but wait — time to pose for a picture. You are finally at the beach, but wait — you have to let your sunscreen dry and your lunch settle before you run into the waves!

I wonder if this is what the Israelites were feeling as they stood between the desert they had wandered in for so long and the beautiful Promised Land. The time had finally come to enter Canaan, but Moses took the time to address the people he had led this far. What could have taken eleven days had taken forty years due to the Israelites’ disobedience. Moses took this time to remind the people of what God had done for them and of the covenant relationship He had entered into with His people.

PAUSE AND REMEMBER.

The majority of the book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ last speech to the Israelites before handing leadership over to Joshua. He looked back over his time with God’s people, reminding them of God’s faithfulness to them through some of the hardest times. He intentionally reminded them of the last time God said to go into the Promised Land and take possession of it.

Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. — Deuteronomy 1:29-33

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has WATCHED OVER your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the Lord your God has BEEN WITH YOU and you have not lacked anything. — Deuteronomy 2:7

DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember…” — Deuteronomy 4:9-10a

There will be tough times ahead of you, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Moses’ strong desire was that history would not repeat itself – that Israel would learn from their past mistakes and move forward in righteousness and faithfulness to their covenant relationship with God. He reminded them of the 10 Commandments and then gave them this very wise advice:

“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.” — Deuteronomy 4:39

“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” — Deuteronomy 5:32-33

NOTICE YOU HAVE LACKED FOR NOTHING.

Dear God, we thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for the times in our lives when you have carried us as a father carries his child. We praise you for those times when you have made us pause — when you have gone ahead of us in our journey, preparing the way and directing us down the right path. Your plan has never been for us to fear but always for us to trust in your provision. Thank you for watching over us, for remaining with us even when we struggled to trust you; thank you for providing even though we do not deserve your generous love.

Abba Father, we thank you for being a God who is there for us — a God we find every time we seek you with all our heart and with all our soul. Lord, we patiently wait in anticipation of what you have next for us. Give us courage through the unknowns and patience in the waiting. We choose to walk in your way today, to remain in a covenant relationship with you. Guide us into your perfect plan, we pray. Amen.

Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.
Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things. – Psalm 107:4-9