Christian Blogs, Discipleship Encouragement and Correction
Let’s Take A Walk
We’ve often heard the phrase that the truth was as plain as the nose on one’s face. Well, that saying hit me this morning when I read Deuteronomy 29:2-4. In the passage, Moses addresses Israel and points out to them all that God had done for them in leading them out of Egypt and caring for them the past forty years. However, despite this, Moses said to them, “Yet, the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this very day.”
One would think that Israel would have readily embraced and glorified God for all that He had done. Why couldn’t they? Well, I suspect it was just because no one’s sandals wore out and they all ate the same manna and quail. They all saw the same cloud hovering over the tabernacle by day and the fire by night; that’s why. For us, those events would have seemed amazing but to them? Mundane. Everyday. Expected. Nothing special.
And possibly, they didn’t feel special. Personally, they didn’t see that what God was doing was for each of them and for their blessing. Of course, that wasn’t God’s fault. Earlier in the trip, God invited everyone to hear Him at the mount but they declined. No, they figured that Moses could do it. In their mind, the old man was special; Aaron too, and oh, Joshua and Caleb were too but no, not them. They weren’t special to God, but they were in their own eyes. As for everything that God had done; that is, their sandals not wearing out? No one’s had; thus, nothing special. Well, you ask, how about the hovering cloud? Ditto, they answered; nope, not for us. We just follow the big guy; he followed the cloud. All we did was mosey along.
Of course, if you and I had been there, I don’t know whether we would have been any different than the majority, but I suppose there is a simple test we could ask ourselves. Are we truly thankful for what we have; even though it compares favorably, or perhaps even a little less favorably, with everyone else that we know in our circle? Do we feel special for having even that? Do we rejoice when others receive a blessing that maybe we’ve been asking God for… what has it been now… oh, forty years? Let’s say that we looked around and everyone was wearing sandals. Would we feel special for ours even though they appeared average and unattractive to others? Could we, in our heart of hearts, provide the following answer if you were asked, ‘Why are they special to you little girl?’
“They are special because my Father gave them to me! He fitted them just for me, and He bids me to walk in them wherever He leads me.” She excitedly answered at first; then paused and blushed. “Oh, they aren’t the most stylish, or expensive in the world, but in actuality? You couldn’t buy them for all the money in the universe! In fact,” she said as she pressed in closer to the questioner, “his Son broke them in for me. Personally!” Then she whispered, “I should tell you a secret though. It’s not really the sandals that are special. I am! He gave them to me to wear! He even placed it on my foot. He told me I was His bride.”
God grant us the heart to perceive; eyes to see and ears to hear. If God was able to preserve the soles of sandals for forty years; He can preserve our souls forever.
