LET'S LOOK BACK ON HIS FAITHFULNESS SO WE MAY MOVE FORWARD FAITHFULLY.

September 25, 2013

LET'S LOOK BACK ON HIS FAITHFULNESS SO WE MAY MOVE FORWARD FAITHFULLY.

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Christina Chermak

Central Truth

Just as Moses shared the Israelites' history with the new generation before charging them to cling to God as they entered the Promised Land, we, too, should remind ourselves of God's faithfulness in our past. Remembering where He's brought us from helps us to trust Him for the future.

"You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen." (Deuteronomy 10:20-21)

Circumcise Your Heart

12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

As I studied this passage in the break room today, I was reminded of the first time I read my Bible at work three years ago. I was terrified, and my behavior reflected it. I picked a choice seat in the corner and strategically set my lunch bag and its contents in a way that made the Bible as inconspicuous as possible. After glancing around sheepishly, I dared to flip open the cover.

I was a few verses in when someone walked through the door behind me, and I physically jumped in my seat. It was at that very telling moment that I became aware of my ridiculous behavior.

There I was, TERRIFIED my Bible would be discovered. Why?

To know the answer to that question, you must first understand that I'm a recovering people pleaser. At some point, I started to believe the lie that my worth was in others' opinions of me, and until finishing re:generation (Watermark's recovery ministry) last year, I still believed that lie. So I sat in that break room three years ago fearing that the approval and opinions of my co-workers would change if they knew I was reading my Bible at work.

So today, while sitting in the middle of the break room, underlining, flipping pages, and audibly reacting to the truth I was reading, I suddenly let out a laugh as I was reminded of that moment three years ago when I was so ridden with fear, so overwhelmed with anxieties, and so immersed in a lie.

Praise God that He's freed me from those people pleasing tendencies. Praise God that He allows moments of giggles to look back on where He's brought us from. Praise God that He uses memories to encourage us in the tasks to come.

I don't know what hurdles face me tomorrow, but today I know my God has done great and awesome things that my eyes have seen (Deuteronomy 10:21), and THAT reminder allows me to press on tomorrow to love Him with all my heart, to serve Him with all my soul, and to cling to Him and Him alone (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, 20).

1. In the previous chapters, God used Moses to remind the Israelites of where He had brought them from. What moments can you look back on and be reminded of how God has come through for you in the past?

2. As the Israelites enter the Promised Land, Moses charges them to serve God and cling to Him and His name. What things do you sense God has on the horizon for you that He is asking you to faithfully walk in and cling to Him in the process?

3. What does it tell you about God's character that He doesn't ask us to step out in faith without demonstrating His faithfulness first?