Deuteronomy 1:11 – Walking in His Promises

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“May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!”

Deuteronomy 1:11 (NKJV)

To understand this verse I had to refresh my memory a little to know where I was at in Deuteronomy.  I also wanted to try to understand what Moses meant by “bless you as He has promised you!”  Now in the context of those days, but unlike today, having many children or descendants was considered a blessing.  I had to think, as a father of a wonderful and large family, how hard and how beneficial that could be.  Sure, to have a lot of children means you have a lot of hands to help around the house but it means you also have a lot of mouths to feed.  Nevertheless in those days this was looked upon as something good. When Moses made this statement to the Israelites he was speaking to the new generation that would enter the Promised Land and reminding them that God was faithful in fulfilling His promise to Abraham about making his descendants numerous. 

Now if you’re not familiar with this part of the bible the Israelites had been wandering in the desert for 40 years and Moses was preparing the new generation for the promised land.  Due to the faithlessness of the older generation of Israelites (these were the parents of the new generation) they would never see the promised land.  Now remember God is not a liar and even though we often lack faith he still carries out His promises.  Sometimes it won’t be for several generations but God is always faithful.  So Moses was reminding the Israelites what God had done for them and urging them to rededicate their lives to Him.  Boy this reminds me of ME.  Of how quickly I can forget the miracles and blessings He has done for me and my need to be reminded of these things.  This is probably why I find myself wandering so much.  I too need to be reminded, so I can rededicate myself to God.  

Just recently I found myself complaining about all of the time, money and effort we had put into our business.  How in one big swoop our manufacturing needs were threatened and then the coronavirus showed up.  Just when I felt our business was going to grow a lot larger this year, I felt like we were back at square one.  It was at that time that I had to really sit back and think about why I chose this business.  I knew that God placed it in my heart but I also wanted to work for God and with God. I wanted to spread God’s promises and there are so many more positive reasons that I chose this business.  

God has this knack that when I’m having a pity party He sends my wife in to remind me how blessed we are.  I may not always be open to her message at the time but usually after a few hours or sometimes a few days, it sinks in.  I can say that I’ve lived a miraculous and blessed life.  When I think back I can say that God has healed me from multiple strokes and a heart condition, He’s healed my wife from cancer.  God gave us 2 beautiful babies even when my wife was really past the age of conception and these babies were conceived and born naturally when we were in our 40’s. These are just a few but really I could go on and on about the blessings and miracles I’ve received.  When I look back at this bible verse and then back at my own life, I can recognize so many of the blessings and that God has also made me a thousand times more numerous.

So to sum up chapter 1 of Deuteronomy, I can say that it’s about remembering what God has done for you and having the faith to trust in what the Lord says (this is for me also) what He will do for you.  I really can understand where the Israelites were coming from. Even though I’ve seen miracles in my own life I can sometimes forget them. I tend to complain when I’m tasked with something that I see as impossible.  I have to remember this is why He is God and that I’m just a human who cannot begin to pretend to understand His ways.  As for the blessing part, I think we often forget how blessed we are.  It’s human nature to focus on the negatives in our lives or what is happening currently.  In those moments I often find myself forgetting everything that God has done for me.  Besides the fact He sent his Son to die for a sinner like me, our God has promised many things to those who follow Him.  

Thank you Lord for everything you have done for me.  

The whole reason I’m choosing to put myself out there like this is because of Him. I never wanted to do this. I’m choosing to live in the light and it’s all for the glory of God.  I still don’t understand my calling.  I still don’t understand why God chose me.  Frankly I wouldn’t even choose me because I am too inconsistent for my own liking. However it’s like what Ivan Mesa said, “We don’t choose our callings; by definition, we’re called to them.”  Repeat: God calls us; we don’t call ourselves.  

Like the scripture says may God bless you as He promised you.        

Mundo

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