So We Crossed the Valley

Quote for the day:

"If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider 'not spiritual work' I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love."
~ Amy Carmichael


(Photo taken at Glen Alton, Va)

Reflections from Deuteronomy Chapters 1&2

First - Most obvious to me is the fact that God works on our behalf. He has planned and ordained our futures and has given us directions for following his plans. (1:8, 30&31).

"The Lord has been with you, and you have not lacked anything." (2:7).

Second - We falter when we become afraid of seeming odds against us, the giant obstacles in front of us. Instead of trusting a God who has already shown himself faithful (1:32), we get discouraged and turn back, refusing to obey God's commands.

Third - God is in no hurry. He will let us "wander in the wilderness" as long as it takes for us to be purged of disbelief and disobedience (1:40). Verse 45 is especially sobering to me:

"You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you."

If I am whining and complaining to God about my dissatisfaction with my circumstances and he seems quite aloof, maybe it's because he is not going to cater to me being a crybaby in the face of his discipline. The sooner I confess my wrong doing and humbly repent, the sooner we can get on to the next step.

Fourth - We will not be left to wander the wilderness forever, and must be ready and willing to take the next step of faith as soon as it presents itself.

"Then the Lord said to me, 'You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.'" (2:3)

[Aside, I can't help but draw connections between this and my own life: Is it time to leave this hill country of Blacksburg and head to Northern Virginia?]

Fifth - We will be given commands that must be obeyed even though they don't seem like an end in and of themselves. We can't hold back simply because we do not understand the full purpose of that which is asked of us. For example, verse 2:13:

"And the Lord said, 'Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.'
So we crossed the valley."

Thirty eight years had already gone by, since the disobedience of Israel sent them into the desert, and they were now getting so close. Yet this was just one more step to be taken BEFORE being led into the promised land.

My God is one who has gone ahead of me in my journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for me to camp and to show me the way I should go (1:33).

Will I follow him across the valley?