“Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

Many of us have been in or are still in a wilderness journey with COVID, job struggles, family problems, grief from loss of loved ones, and other personal experiences. As we continue to trudge along we can find hope in Moses’ guiding words to the Israelites.

As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminded them of their experiences in Egypt and the judgements they had witnessed. He pointed out how God had provided for their every need including shoes still in good shape and clothes that had not worn out for 40 years (Deuteronomy 29:5). In addition, God had not only protected them from their enemies, but He had also taken another nation’s land and given it to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 29)

Moses guiding words included next steps for the Israelites:

• Remember their slavery in Egypt.
• Remember how God loved and cared for them in the desert.
• Take possession of the land.
• Do not let the blessings of the new land lead them sin.
• Love and obey God enjoying the blessing he gave them.

God promised the Israelites that if they would stay faithful to him, they would keep their promised inheritance (Deuteronomy 30:20).

As we live in our wilderness journey we can follow Moses’ advice and look to our promised inheritance of eternal life:

• Remember times when God freed you from your past and/or sin(s).
• Remember God loves and cares for you during this time
  • May be helpful to list what you do have (food, clothes, shelter, etc.)
• Possess the abundant life you have in Christ (faith, hope, love, joy, peace, endurance, and strength)
• Do not let fleshly desires and the temptations of the world lead to sin
• Return to abiding in Christ through prayer, worship and living in the Word

I love the practicality of God’s word to the Israelites found in Deuteronomy 30:11-14:

 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.”

In other words, God says, “You Got this!”