Your Heart Belongs To You

A thought provoking statement is found in Deuteronomy 8:1-10. As Moses talked to second generation Israel to prepare them to enter Canaan, the country God promised them, Moses said:

"...that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not" (Deuteronomy 8:2).

Moses declaration is simple: God did not know what they would decide until they made the decision.

The context is striking! Moses said they would possess Canaan because of a promise God made their ancestors. God was honoring a commitment He made generations previously. [God keeps His promises!] As a reminder to them of God's faithfulness in His commitments, Moses asked these people to recall their experiences with God. God had been faithful to them in providing wilderness leadership for them for forty years!

Then Moses said a curious thing. "God humbled you." God did not let Israel exaggerate their personal importance. He prevented them from feeling like they were in control. He make them depend on Him in a manner obvious to them. How did God humble them? "I let you be hungry, and fed you in a unique manner with manna." God, why did you do that? "That He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." Moses also declared in this same forty years their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

There was something they were to know beyond question. They were to know the experiences in the wilderness were intended by God to discipline them. By this discipline, they would know beyond question (1) the importance of obeying God and (2) the importance of holding God in a profound sense of honor.

God affirmed the land that would be theirs. It was everything He promised! (1)It had an excellent water supply. (2) It had fertile land that produced wonderful crops which provided an excellent food source. (3) It even had wonderful mineral deposits that would satisfy their future metal needs.

Their basic responsibility: when they enjoyed the blessings of that country, bless the God Who gave it to them.

While God knows all your decisions before you express them, those decisions are yours. Your heart is your own! While God knows you, you decide who you are. As He taught Israel, He teaches us the same truth: there is more to life than good food and enduring clothes. Do not be deceived into believing that you can measure your life by what you have and own. [Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 and 6:19-34?]

In how many ways has God blessed you? In how many ways have you expressed gratitude to God for those blessings?