LIFELONG WATCHCARE
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. Deut. 2:7, N.I.V.
They had gone into the wilderness forty years ago. The Promised Land seemed a lifetime away. For many it was. Children had grown up and had children of their own. They traveled continually over dusty and barren terrain, yet daily tasks of living had to be performed. Despite the apparent futility of it all, they had kept busy tending flocks.
There had been a lot of complaining, a lot of despair. To the majority it seemed as if God were just biding His time before He disposed of them. In the meantime, He demanded their worship. Many of these people died, but their distorted picture of God lives on. Now it was again time to enter Canaan. Surely the memory of what had happened before was on their minds. So God did what He always does. He tried to calm their fears by telling them the truth about His attitude toward them.
What He said should have convinced them that He never had intended to dispose of them. He had given them tasks that would enable them to experience success, which they considered "blessings." Though they did not perceive it, He had done this to rebuild their damaged self-image. He told them that He's been with them every step of the way and that they had lacked nothing. In essence, He told them that they mattered very much to Him and that they could trust Him to take excellent care of them.
Are you experiencing a wilderness journey? Does heaven seem more than a lifetime away? Does it sometimes appear futile to go on? Then today's text is especially for you! Though you may not feel it, you matter very much to your heavenly Father. He knows and marks each of your steps; you shall lack nothing that is essential to your well-being. There will always be tasks at hand at which you can succeed. God wants you to know that He sees in you great potential. If you allow Him to, He will so heal your life that you will never again know poverty of spirit.
To know God is to know lifelong watchcare, in a desert wilderness or upon entering Canaan.
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. Deut. 2:7, N.I.V.
They had gone into the wilderness forty years ago. The Promised Land seemed a lifetime away. For many it was. Children had grown up and had children of their own. They traveled continually over dusty and barren terrain, yet daily tasks of living had to be performed. Despite the apparent futility of it all, they had kept busy tending flocks.
There had been a lot of complaining, a lot of despair. To the majority it seemed as if God were just biding His time before He disposed of them. In the meantime, He demanded their worship. Many of these people died, but their distorted picture of God lives on. Now it was again time to enter Canaan. Surely the memory of what had happened before was on their minds. So God did what He always does. He tried to calm their fears by telling them the truth about His attitude toward them.
What He said should have convinced them that He never had intended to dispose of them. He had given them tasks that would enable them to experience success, which they considered "blessings." Though they did not perceive it, He had done this to rebuild their damaged self-image. He told them that He's been with them every step of the way and that they had lacked nothing. In essence, He told them that they mattered very much to Him and that they could trust Him to take excellent care of them.
Are you experiencing a wilderness journey? Does heaven seem more than a lifetime away? Does it sometimes appear futile to go on? Then today's text is especially for you! Though you may not feel it, you matter very much to your heavenly Father. He knows and marks each of your steps; you shall lack nothing that is essential to your well-being. There will always be tasks at hand at which you can succeed. God wants you to know that He sees in you great potential. If you allow Him to, He will so heal your life that you will never again know poverty of spirit.
To know God is to know lifelong watchcare, in a desert wilderness or upon entering Canaan.
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