But if from there you seek the LORD your God
you will find him if you seek him
with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29
The Book of Deuteronomy reminds me of a parent sending a child off to college. You’ve told them everything already, you’ve modeled and trained, but it all needs to be said again before you drive away from campus. The word Deuteronomy means, “repetition” or “second law.”
Moses is repeating everything he has already shared with his “children” (the Israelites) as they prepare to enter the promised land. He will not go with them. The baton of leadership will pass to Joshua.
Do you hear the urgency in his words? He is pleading – be all in! ALL your heart and ALL your soul! He desperately desires to motivate them to live for God.
Forty years has passed since Moses led them out of Egypt. But getting out of exile is not an end in itself. If Egypt was the “negative,” the wilderness is neutral ground. Now it’s time to move into the positive: to enter the long-awaited promised land and return home to the place given their ancestor, Abraham.
Moving into the land of promise and finding the blessing that awaits them requires trust in God.
They could not free themselves from bondage in Egypt. They were hemmed in with no way out, but God made a way where there was none. He parted the Red Sea! This is a beautiful metaphor for our salvation. We, too, are in bondage, enslaved by our own sin. Like the physical situation of the Israelites, we have no way out spiritually. But God made a way. He parted the Red Sea. He sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
What comes next? Shouldn’t the Israelites in Old Testament times – and every believer now – be so grateful for freedom that we commit ourselves to living for Him?
Sadly, the Israelites fell short … as do we. They disobeyed God, even resorting to idolatry. Their disobedience delayed the blessing of the promised land as they wandered in the desert for 40 years – freed from bondage, but not yet enjoying all the blessings that awaited them.
Out of the negative, but not moving into the positive.
Are you a follower of Jesus but find yourself wandering in the desert – living less, when God has more? The call is to move forward to live for God: to follow after Him, to live according to His righteous ways.
This is the best life. This is the way of receiving all God has for us.
This is the life Moses spurs the Israels then (and us now) to lean into. An all-in, wholehearted life! No more playing the hokey pokey, in today and out tomorrow.
Seek the Lord! It’s a choice that requires action and effort. We don’t just accidentally stumble onto God’s truth. We go after it. Every. Single. Day. It means placing ourselves in His presence, putting our faces in His Book (before scrolling Facebook!), and daily seeking the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
But always remember: We don’t follow Him to find his love. We follow Him because we already are loved!
Let’s pray that 2024 is the year we move out of the desert and into Promised Land living! Are you with me? Let’s choose to be ALL IN – seeking Him with ALL our hearts and ALL our souls!
You may have read or even memorized Matthew 6:33, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness …”
But what does it mean, and what is the practical application of that truth? In our latest devotional video, Laura endeavors to answer those questions as she unpacks this powerful verse from our January Write the WORD bookmark. We invite you to watch her teaching, and then join us this month as we read, write, and study verses that highlight the word, SEEK.
We are beginning 2024 with a focus on seeking God … and we pray that you will commit to joining us in this endeavor. Visit our Downloads page today for your January Write the WORD bookmark, optional S.O.A.P. study outline pages, and other free resources to help you love and serve God and those He has placed in your sphere of influence.
