Step Into the Blessing
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but go after other gods which you have not known. Deuteronomy 11:26-27
The children of Israel had a choice before them. They were getting ready to go into the promised land – the land that God had promised them. But they were stubborn people wanting to go their own way and do their own thing. I don’t think much has changed about us humans, do you?
Entering the promised land was not an easy task as they had many battles to be fought. God never promised us that following Him would be easy. However, like He promised the children of Israel, there were blessings attached to following and obeying God. He also said there would be a curse if they didn’t heed His command.
This doesn’t mean that God was going to curse the people. The world is already governed by the father of curses - the devil. Therefore, there was protection from the curse when they obeyed God. If they didn’t follow His commandments, they would be left to deal with things independent from God. The choice to obey and have a blessing or disobey and fall prey to the curse seems like an easy choice. But every day, we are presented with the same choice.
We have our own “promised land” to cross into, called the Kingdom of God. It’s a place that we can live and abide in now as we live on the earth. Praise God, we don’t have to fight any real battles as Christ already won us the victory. We just have to receive the gift of salvation and choose to obey the Word just like the children of Israel.
The children of Israel didn’t get the victory because they were God’s chosen people. They had to obey His commandments. Likewise, we don’t get the victory just because we are Christians. We have the choice set before us just like they did of blessing or curse – to live God’s way or the devil’s way. Choose to obey the commandments of God and live in the His blessing today.
Dear Lord, I choose to live in the blessing. Help me follow your Word and obey your voice today and every day. Amen.
