Devotion

In Deuteronomy 8, the Israelites received a divine directive that was designed to keep them at a place of permanent success despite any obstacle, challenge, or trouble thrown in their paths. In essence, Moses warned the Israelites about forgetting God once they had reached a point of satisfaction and prosperity. He admonished, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day” (v. 18). Moses was concerned that the Israelites might be tempted to take credit for their success: “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth” (v. 17). Should you read (even casually) through the Biblical account of the history of Israel, you will begin to understand that Moses’ concern was justified. However, the validity of such a concern is not limited to Moses’ time. Christians today would be very wise to consider Moses’ counsel before every success, every triumph over sin, every resistance of temptation, and every promotion. If your children are doing well, remember that God did it. If your household is in order, remember that God did it. In short, remember that every good and perfect gift comes from God. That means that God is responsible for any level of success you have; so, don’t forget God. The temptation to forget is strong especially because God does not usually bring us success independently of our cooperation with Him. For example, God has promised to open up the windows of heaven on our behalf, but he does so in response to our cooperative act of tithing. We sometimes focus inordinately on our part, forgetting that regardless of what we do, even cooperating with God is not possible if He does not enable us. Wisdom therefore dictates that we do our part to cooperate with God; however, humility mandates that we give God all the credit—for what He does as well as for what He enables us to do. One of the major symptoms of forgetting is judging others. When we unduly criticize others for missing a mark that we seem to have had no trouble hitting, it is because we have failed to remember that it was God who enabled us to hit the mark in the first place. Think about it: if you truly remembered that it was God (and not you!) that delivered you from fornication, you would be more likely to exercise compassion and empathy rather than judgment toward the person who just can’t seem to shake the bondage of fornication. We would do well to remember the old adage, If not for the grace of God, there go I. Failing to remember is why family members sit around talking about another family member who may be involved in immorality. Failing to remember always involves deception and always result in pride. As such, it has a very stiff penalty. Consider James 4:6b, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” So when we fail to remember God in our success, consequently succumbing to a spirit of judgmentalism, we become candidates for God’s resistance. By taking credit for our success, we have effectively disconnected ourselves from the source of that success. We then become responsible, apart from God, to maintain that success. And there is no way we can do that. Therefore, we end up becoming ensnarled in the very thing for which we once judged others. So the next time, you are tempted to forget, remember the consequences, and know that failing to remember is not worth the price!