How to remember, in all our rush, where our blessing comes from
By Dean Collins
When it comes to taking credit, what we say in our hearts is of the same importance as what we say out loud to others.
At least that’s what Moses told the Israelites during his instructions as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. The warning Moses gave had to do with who would get credit for defeating the enemies in the land they were soon to possess.
Moses had experienced enough conversations with God to know what God thought about pride and humility. Moses was clear that the victory didn’t have anything to do with Israel being good enough: “Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going to possess their land,” he told his people. God was honoring the promises he made decades earlier. He was also bringing justice to some who had been wicked.
Just in case some still thought they had anything to do with their victories, Moses reminded them that they were in fact a very stubborn people! They were so stubborn that even after they experienced God’s blessings, Moses literally had to lay face down before the Lord to beg that God would not destroy them for their arrogant disobedience.
Saying it in your heart, keeping it in your heart
As I read the sermon Jesus preached in Luke 6, the problem with saying something in your heart is that before you know it, your thought may very well make it to your mouth and to the ear of another. After an agriculture lesson on fruit trees and how fig trees don’t have thorns and grapes don’t grow with brambles, Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
If we fill our hearts and minds with the goodness, grace, and love of God, then the fruit of humility, kindness, and mercy will grow. And with the fruit of the Spirit growing in us, we will be far less likely to take credit for what God does in our lives. The self-induced long-suffering of the wilderness wandering had produced an ungrateful and prideful heart in some of the Israelites. So as Moses was preparing God’s people for the future, he wanted to make sure they remembered and taught their history properly.
Creating space and time to remember God
When we go through long seasons of difficulty, it is important to continue to create space and time to reflect on God’s presence and his gifts to us. As long as we are living there will be evidence of God’s love and gifts each day. They will not always be big gifts as the world measures success, but the gift of daily life, daily bread, a cup of water, or a place to sleep are all gifts we can celebrate because of God’s goodness to us.
God’s faithfulness is so much greater than we notice. His love, his grace, and his mercy are new every day. Sometimes I think we forget to thank God simply because we don’t slow down long enough to have a conversation with our Father in Heaven.
Father, today we want to stop our rushing. We pause to breathe the air you have provided with the lungs you created. We open our eyes to notice the beauty of creation which you gave us for our enjoyment. We thank you for the gift of salvation and for the family of God where you have placed us. We ask that your Holy Spirit sow seeds of love and mercy in us that we might fully produce fruit that blesses those around us. Forgive us for our stubborn and ungrateful moments. As we live today, we pray your Spirit would guide us to someone we might help and encourage today so that they might see you at work in their world as well. We commit to sharing how your story has changed our stories forever. You are our deliverer and our refuge. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Deuteronomy 9:4-7, 25-29; Luke 6:43-45 ESV
Photo by mauro mora on Unsplash
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