Aligning Ourselves to God's Will
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 3:23-29 (NASB)
23 “I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? 25 Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
SUMMARY
Moses was praising God’s greatness and power and he pleaded with God to allow him to enter the land of Canaan. God rejects Moses’ prayer and orders him to charge Joshua with conquering and distributing the land of Canaan to the Israelites. God told Moses to encourage and strengthen Joshua.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
When I read verse 26, “But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter’,” it showed that God really wanted Moses to listen and to follow through with His plans. God knew what it took to make sure Moses obeyed His commands. It also portrays the anger of God when Moses’ plan didn’t align with God’s plan. The same goes with me because there were many times when I did not obey God and instead went ahead with my desires. This reminds me that I need to pray before any decision is made and make sure that I am aligned with furthering God’s kingdom.
APPLICATION
I plan to get into the habit of praying before doing anything and asking for God’s will. As I am planning for my wedding, I would like to glorify God through the decisions that I make. For example, doing the livestream of my wedding would allow us to share the Gospel to many nonbelievers and also allow us to be witnesses to God. I also want to be a good example to my fiancé about praying and obeying God so that God’s glory is revealed through my decisions. Obeying God reminds me of Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” This means that everything I do should be done for God including my marriage.
PRAYER
Thank You, God, for the message and reminder of how I need to obey You. You are a sovereign and Almighty God. I repent for going after my own desires rather than obeying Your words and commands. Heavenly Father, I pray that You use me to further Your kingdom and also reveal Your plans to me in a way that I can understand. I also pray for humility to obey You and not my own selfish desires. I pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen my flesh against sin and evil. I know that Your plans are always good and that I may not realize it now but will eventually realize it later. Thank You for Your faithfulness and Your unchanging love. Thank You for showing us the blessings that come with obeying You.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)