When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:10-18
“It is hard to remember the goodness of God when life gets comfortable. you’d think that when people achieve a great level of provision and comfort, that would be when they are most grateful…But honestly, for most people, it’s nothing like that. Humanity by nature is forgetful, especially in our most comfortable moments. Moses knew something of human nature, which is why he called the Israelites to remember the goodness and provision of God [in Deuteronomy 8:10-18]…
The Israelites were nearing the end of their forty years in the wilderness after generations of slavery in Egypt. They had been through hardships and one obstacle after another, yet all the while God had been their provision. God had met their every need: sending manna from heaven, protecting them from enemies, and reassuring that God had not abandoned them in their times of rebellion. When they were in need, God provided. Yet now they were coming to the Promised Lan, a land flowing with milk and honey and everything they could ever want. They were about to be in the land of comfort, not the land of need. Therefore, Moses issued this word of caution to them. Don’t forget who got you here.
Have you forgotten who has gotten you to where you are right now? … Think back and remember the hardships that God got you through, the resources provided along the way, the people sent to you. No matter how hard you worked to arrive at where you are right now, you did not achieve anything apart from the grace of God who got you here. So remember and praise God in your comfort in the same way you called out for God in your time of need. Don’t allow the means you’ve attained to cloud your remembrance of the One who was your means of provision.”
Rev. David Dorn II in Saving Grace: Hope-Filled Devotions Along the Way to Financial Well-Being (Nashville: Abingdon, 2020) 25-26.
Are you in crisis? Cry out to God. He hears and cares deeply for you and desires to deliver you from difficulty.
Are you comfortable? Our human proclivity is to become fat and self-indulgent rather than focused on serving others. Instead, let’s aim to be careful!
Seriously, our tendency is to build a fine house and settle down. Don’t go there! It’s a test to keep us humble. God blessed His people then and blesses us now to be a blessing.
This is why He wanted His people back then and us now to remember and to share with open hands and grateful hearts. Would you pass the test? Are you comfortable or careful?
And let me add a word about the new header photo.
When I was in Malawi, I met Bonface Milanzi, who was a church planter living in remote, rural part of Malawi (where the average annual income is $242 USD and that is not a typo).
He needed $100 USD to plant a field to feed his family and his whole village. It was about 1.5 hectares or 4 acres. Chris Maphosa and I split it and each shared $50.
He sent this photo. Sorry if it is blurry. It’s the corn or maize that will feed his village. Pray with me that our gift will reap an abundant harvest for him to enjoy and share.