Hello sisters! In my last post, I shared from a quiet time I had this past December. If you have not read it, I recommend reading it first because this post complements it. I believe God shared the following quiet time with me yesterday (literally!!) to show the other great test to our faith: the good times.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you
~Deuteronomy 6:10-14
Moses is giving his last words of exhortation to the people of Israel before they enter the promise land. The people who are listening to Moses are not of the generation who left Egypt. That generation, anyone twenty years old and older, died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. Moses retold the story as to why in Deuteronomy chapter 1. And so, Moses is exhorting the next generation of people to REMEMBER. There’s a sense of urgency in his speaking as he consistently reminds the people to “take care,” “diligently keep the commandments,” and “watch yourselves.”
When will it be important to watch and take care to remember God’s covenant? Moses is saying, when times are good. This is another moment of great spiritual testing. Things just seem to be going your way, such as: your health is pretty good, your job is steady, your college GPA is right where you want it, you are doing well in marriage, kids are good, food is on the table, car works, emotions are in check, friendships are tight, your favorite dress fits just right, AND if you’re in a discipleship culture, you have “younger” women following you as you follow Christ (I Cor. 11:1), you have running mates beside you, and you have “older” women challenging you. Yep, times are good and you are full.
These are the times, just like in suffering, that our hearts will be exposed. It is because in good times, our hearts are incredibly vulnerable to pride. We can begin to think it was because of my hard work, my commitment, my power, my wit, my spiritual maturity, and my wisdom that produced results. We have the opportunity to give God His due glory (Isaiah 42:8) or we can add another dose of pride to our hearts. We have the opportunity to invest into the Kingdom of God or invest into the kingdom of me, myself, and I. Now I am not saying hard work, commitment, etc. are not good things because they are. Certainly we are called to walk in the good works God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). Let’s remember, God creates and we participate, okay? Without the Creator, we have nada. God says, “From me comes your fruit” (Hosea 14:8) and we should say, “We have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).
Back to Moses. What else does he mean when he says, “lest you forget the Lord”? What does he mean by forget? As Westerners, we interpret forget as “to not think about.” And sure, that is true. But Moses is saying more than that. When Moses exhorts the people to “take care lest you forget the Lord,” he is not exhorting them to just mentally think about God in good times. Do not forget/ remember is evidenced by action. The evidence was their acts of obedience and their fidelity to God alone (read Deuteronomy!). Look again at the verses: they were to “serve” Him and “not go after other gods.” God, speaking through Moses, is making it clear that remembering does not stop at thinking, but also elicits an action.
In good times, we do not just give a shout out to Jesus as we skip on our way to selfishly bask in our “prosperous” season. We must still ACT in accordance with the covenant we have entered, which is marked by sacrificial love (John 13:34-35). In good times we should be asking, how can we maximize this season to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)? Now that we have extra time or money or emotional stability or whatever it is, how can I use it for God and other people so that others might come to know Him and give Him glory too? Can we share another’s burden? Can we give more generously? Can we find one more spiritually hungry woman in our churches to raise up? So sisters, let us REMEMBER, as defined by God, in the good times too.
By the River Together 