Hello Friends!
I think most of us are on the same page… WE WANT LIFE TO GO BACK TO NORMAL! Right? And slowly it seems we will get there.
I was reminded today, in reading Deuteronomy, that the nation of Israel faced a quarantine of sorts when they had to wander the desert wilderness for forty years until they could enter the promised land. 40 years! Sometimes the isolation order has felt like months, but not years, and not forty years for sure!
Why did the nation of Israel have to do this? It comes down to fear and a lack of faith in God. They were on the precipice of entering the promised land (a good land flowing with milk and honey) but when they sent spies in to scout out the battles ahead, they found the odds stacked against them. When the spies (most, not all) reported the massive battles and fearsome foes that awaited their arrival into the land, they cowered in fear and refused to move forward. They had forgotten the most important element in the battle. They had forgotten that God had promised to win the battles for them. As a result, God rejected this generation of leaders and sent them wandering in the desert for the next forty years! Now that’s an isolation order!
So what about us? I think this devotional has very little to do with the virus or the stay-at-home orders, and a lot to do with our daily faith. Am I confident that I have given my life, my all, to the Lord? Am I confident in the Lord’s plans for me that are for my ultimate and eternal good (not always focused on my temporary comfort and pleasure)? If so, then am I confident in the Lord’s ability to accomplish that very thing? That His plans cannot be usurped or defeated by any opponent? If so, then what do I have to fear?
Let me ask again… What Do You Have To Fear?
Demons? The antichrist? Leaders? Laws? Thugs? Viruses? Politicians? Death?
No, none of those, no matter how powerful they are compared to our limited flesh, have an ounce of strength compared to our God’s. And if we belong to Him, adopted into His family, then we have nothing to fear. In truth, in the end, we will be the ones standing in victory.
I don’t know where this devotional finds you, but it is likely that it finds you in the midst of some struggle or battle. Maybe it is an internal war, maybe it is an external one against systems or powers. Regardless, the battle is not the point, the One who we belong to and fights for His plans to prevail is the point.
Let us not cower at the foes. Let us not be afraid of what may or may not happen. Let us rather rejoice that we have a glorious Friend in Jesus who has won salvation and resurrection for us all. And let us rejoice that in the end, we will stand in victory alongside the Champion Jesus.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35-37 NIV
Blessings,
Chris