March 20

Deuteronomy 8

God Humbles Israel

Some think that God's work of humbling is accomplished just by bringing us into a humble place. But it is where our heart is while we are in the humble place that God is really concerned about. God gives the children of Israel a warning in this chapter - Do Not Forget the Lord. Everything that God wants us to learn comes from the first step of humility.  If we aren't humble, we aren't teachable. I have notes in my Bible next to this chapter.  It was from a time when my family and I were going through the wilderness. It was when I first trusted Jesus and started to even read my Bible. we learn in this passage in verse 3 that "Man does live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord".  I lived off of God's word during that time. Reflecting, I learned that just as God carried the Israelites over the 40 years of walking through the desert, He carried me and my family. When we are in that place, in the wilderness in our own lives, we have to remember that it's for a purpose and it usually has something to do with the condition of our hearts. More importantly, we have to trust our Sovereign God who put us there and humble our hearts. When we realize our total dependency on the One who created us, and we submit our hearts and our lives to His plan, He leads us out of the desert. Just as God humbled the people of Israel, He humbles us. 

Randi