God did many great things for His people during the Old Testament times. Unfortunately, God’s people tended to take their wonderful blessings for granted. However, God gave them fair warning as we read in:
Deuteronomy 8:11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 “lest-- when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 “and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 “when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 “who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 “who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end-- 17 “then you say in your heart,`My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 “Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 “As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.
Many times, throughout the Bible, you will see God’s people thrive in their faith and trust in God when they are under persecution, and things are not going well. We can understand this because some things only become urgent when we desperately need them. However, we should not be this way regarding God, yet it happens often.
God would bless the children of Israel and defeat their enemies, leading to prosperity. However, as things went smoothly, they began to forget the reason for their blessings and God’s role. Their mindset shifted from being grateful for God’s blessings to taking credit for their success.
The children of Israel were guilty of this many times, especially in the Book of Judges, where they would fall away and be restored seven times under different judges. Not only was this a big problem for them, it’s a problem for us today. We live in one of the most powerful nations on this planet. Though we have division in our nation, overall, we have it good. We have plenty of food, running water, a home, the freedom to worship, etc. We truly are blessed. We can take care of many of our problems, including our health, but with these blessings comes a mentality that we don’t really need God that much. In fact, some forget about God altogether and will boast that they have everything they need because of what they have done.
While I am thankful that sometimes our biggest concern is what we watch on TV tonight, this easy lifestyle can cause us to lose sight of God and how much we need Him in our everyday lives. So, I hope we will do our best not to take all that God has blessed us for granted. I hope we will give Him glory and honor because we are nothing without Him.
With this thought in mind, I want to conclude with the following parable:
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness1, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 “And he thought within himself, saying,`What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 “So he said,`I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 `And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him,`Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
So, let’s never forget our God and always do our best to have priorities straight.
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