PRAY

Show me Your glory, I pray.
Exodus 33:18

READ

If you say to yourself, “These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?” do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,  the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD our God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Deuteronomy 7:17-19

What must the Israelites be thinking as they look at their children, fearful of what might happen? What must they be feeling about what lies ahead? For forty years they have worried about this day. They face the great walled cities of Canaan, the fortified outposts, and giants in the land before whom they felt like grasshoppers. Running away might seem better than moving ahead.

What is there for Moses to say to people so fearful? What is the remedy for their fear? Listen to Moses! “If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the LORD your God did…”

That’s it! Remember what the Lord our God did! This is fundamental for the walk of faith, to remember what the Lord has done for us. So, centuries later “in the day of my trouble” (Psalm 77:2) the psalmist resolves to remember. “I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11-12). Note the words: “call to mind…remember…meditate…muse”! Is this not what emboldened David in the face of his giants and troubles to say, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits – “? (Psalm 103:2)

Lest we think we remember only God’s mighty acts for David, Moses and the Israelites, consider the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

“It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe His goodness in delivering them, His mercy in pardoning them, and His faithfulness in keeping His covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of His goodness and of His truth, as much a proof of His faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before?..Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening)

How important it is for the believer to review his or her own life, and to discover that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). “If God speaks to us at all in this world, if God speaks anywhere, it is into our personal lives that he speaks…into the thick of it, or out of the thick of it, at moments of even the most humdrum of our days, God speaks.” (Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey)

Are you facing giants in your life? Are there rivers that seem uncrossable? Hear the words of Moses as words to you! “Do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the LORD your God did…”

REFLECT

• Spurgeon suggests it would be “interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives.” Where have you seen the hand of God in your life? Take a few moments to talk with God about that.