At the end of 2004, I issued a challenge to any blog readers who would like to join me in reading through the Bible in 2005. I heard from several who were joining me. (For any new readers, I read through the entire Bible in odd numbered years and I read through the New Testament four times in even numbered years.)
Have you fallen behind? Don’t quit because of it. Just start in at the current reading. And if anyone would like to join me, start today. You can pick up a reading schedule in PDF at purposedrivenlife.com.
Last week, I came across these verses:
Deuteronomy 7:21-24
21 No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD
your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God
will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear
them away all at once, for if you did, the wild animals would multiply too
quickly for you. 23 But the LORD your God will hand them over to you. He will
throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will put their
kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth.
No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all.
I immediately felt like God was speaking to me regarding "rough patches" in life. So I rewrote this portion for me:
No, Robin, do not be afraid of the
troubles that beset you, for the Lord your God is with you, and He is a great
and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive those troubles out ahead of you
little by little.Oh, Lord. Must it be little by little? Can’t we just do a
clean sweep?Beloved daughter, you will not clear the problems away all at once, for
if you did, the wild animals (pride, self-sufficiency, the belief that you’ve
got the faith-walk down pat, etc.) would multiply too quickly for you. But the
Lord your God will hand all of the problems over to you. He will throw the devil
and his minions into complete confusion until the walls and the problems are
destroyed. He will put those problems into your power, with the help of Jesus,
and you will erase those problems from the face of the
earth. No problem will stand against you, Robin, and you will destroy them all
because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Never
forget that the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than
the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and
desires. It exposes us for what we really are (Hebrews 4:12). For a
Christian, it is the bread we need to eat daily for survival. Without
it, we weaken and are at the mercy of the world. Without the Word of
God, we begin to buy-into the thinking of the society we live in. We
compromise. We justify our actions.
I pray this morning that you will fall in love with the written Word of God in a new way this year. Amen.
In the grip of His grace,
Robin
