Pray | Thank you, God, for reminders to be prepared for plenty, not just burnout, for abundance as well as sparse
When our kids were little, I sometimes took them on the weekly grocery run. Before we got out of the car I would turn around and give some instructions: we’re sticking to our list, stay near, hang onto the cart, and such. These expectations were given to help them navigate aisles filled with items that looked good (but weren’t necessarily healthy), always placed on shelves where little eyes could see and small hands could reach. Those trips always went better when I took the time to prepare them for what was ahead. And so it is with Moses and the Israelites, they’re about to enter a very good and plentiful land, carts to be filled to overflowing, but before they go in, Moses begins with a reminder about commands, obedience and reverence.
Read | Deuteronomy 8:6-9
Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land0 where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
We understand preparing for difficult or lean seasons, and we grasp leaning deeply into the Lord and his Word when times are very hard, when grief, confusion, heartache, and darkness seem all around. But in Deuteronomy 8:6-9 Moses says to observe the commands, walk in obedience and revere God, not because a tough season or darkness is coming, but because so much goodness is about to be in front of the people. Figs to capture eyes and pomegranates for hands to grasp, so much so that they are about to lack nothing; the cupboards and more are about to be filled to beyond overflowing. But first comes the instruction so that it will go well for them: observe the commands, walk in obedience, and revere God. It was time to gird up not for hard, but for good.
Have you seen a season of plenty before you? If so, did you prepare for it in any deliberate or disciplined way?
Written for Five Oaks Church Daily Life Devotional