Deuteronomy Day 2
Read Deuteronomy 7:17-26.
Back in the book of Numbers, the final straw before the Israelites were forced to wander for 40 years was the way they responded to the Canaanites living in the land God had promised them. Rather than trusting that God would give them victory over the Canaanites, they were terrified and forgot God’s promise to them. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses is revisiting this subject with the Israelites. How will they react when they run into resistance while taking over the Promised Land? Will they trust God and drive out the people, or will they cower in fear again?
Deuteronomy 7:22
The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
Take special attention to how God tells the Israelites he will drive the people out of the Promised Land, “little by little”. The Lord is revealing the way that He often works in our lives. There are times where God would give the Israelites immediate victory in the battle, but most of the time that’s not what God does. Our God is the God of the moment, but also the God of the process. A lot of times we want God to give us victory or move in a moment immediately, when God is trying to show us something through the slower process.
In verse 22, God tells them specifically why He won’t give them victory all at once, because the wild animals would multiply too quickly around them and would bring danger upon them. God has a plan and He knows what He is doing. Think about the battles you are facing in your life, it could be a struggle with mental health or a broken relationship you are trying to mend. A lot of times we want God to bring immediate healing or restoration to that situation, when many times God brings victory through a slower process.
More important than the victory that God brings, is the trust that we learn to have in the waiting. If the Israelites wiped out other nations all at once, not only would the animals multiply but then the Israelites wouldn’t need to trust or depend on God anymore. God cares about teaching the Israelites to trust Him and depend on Him for their daily victory, even if it’s not the pace the Israelites would have chosen. The pace that God is working at in your life when it comes to the battles you are facing may not be the pace you would have chosen but have faith that your God has a plan and is moving at the perfect pace for your own good and His glory!
Questions to consider.
What are some of the “battles” in your life right now?
Do you find yourself wanting God to move at a faster pace in your life? How can you challenge yourself to be content with trusting in God daily?
Ask God to give you patience today and to help you trust in Him every day. He is always moving and working even when we can’t see it.
Back in the book of Numbers, the final straw before the Israelites were forced to wander for 40 years was the way they responded to the Canaanites living in the land God had promised them. Rather than trusting that God would give them victory over the Canaanites, they were terrified and forgot God’s promise to them. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses is revisiting this subject with the Israelites. How will they react when they run into resistance while taking over the Promised Land? Will they trust God and drive out the people, or will they cower in fear again?
Deuteronomy 7:22
The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
Take special attention to how God tells the Israelites he will drive the people out of the Promised Land, “little by little”. The Lord is revealing the way that He often works in our lives. There are times where God would give the Israelites immediate victory in the battle, but most of the time that’s not what God does. Our God is the God of the moment, but also the God of the process. A lot of times we want God to give us victory or move in a moment immediately, when God is trying to show us something through the slower process.
In verse 22, God tells them specifically why He won’t give them victory all at once, because the wild animals would multiply too quickly around them and would bring danger upon them. God has a plan and He knows what He is doing. Think about the battles you are facing in your life, it could be a struggle with mental health or a broken relationship you are trying to mend. A lot of times we want God to bring immediate healing or restoration to that situation, when many times God brings victory through a slower process.
More important than the victory that God brings, is the trust that we learn to have in the waiting. If the Israelites wiped out other nations all at once, not only would the animals multiply but then the Israelites wouldn’t need to trust or depend on God anymore. God cares about teaching the Israelites to trust Him and depend on Him for their daily victory, even if it’s not the pace the Israelites would have chosen. The pace that God is working at in your life when it comes to the battles you are facing may not be the pace you would have chosen but have faith that your God has a plan and is moving at the perfect pace for your own good and His glory!
Questions to consider.
What are some of the “battles” in your life right now?
Do you find yourself wanting God to move at a faster pace in your life? How can you challenge yourself to be content with trusting in God daily?
Ask God to give you patience today and to help you trust in Him every day. He is always moving and working even when we can’t see it.