Remember the Lord Your God

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God… You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth… Deuteronomy 8:11-14a; 17-18a, NIV

We sometimes forget our ability comes from the Lord. We fall so easily into sinful pride, believing in ourselves and our own power and strength instead of trusting fully in our great and awesome God. 

A few years ago I applied for a job that was a big promotion for me. I prayed about taking the position, but the bottom line was, I wanted the job. I knew I had the ability to do the job and I wanted the prestige of the higher-level position and I wanted the extra money. 

God allowed me to have what I thought I wanted in order to chasten me, Proverbs 3:12. You see, I had fallen into a wrong way of thinking. I am so thankful we serve a God who loves us enough to seek us out when we have gone astray. 

The job was the terrible! It was the first time I had ever worked in an environment in which I felt completely ill at ease. It was frightening. (When we walk in obedience to God, He places a hedge around us, Job 1:10.) 

I left the position after a little more than two years. Before taking that job I had always worked for supervisors who were Christians and I had always worked with fellow Christians. But because of my lust for money, I foolishly, sinfully, chose a position for myself where I no longer enjoyed an environment with fellow believers. 

As I began to recover from this situation and regain my focus I was reminded of many things of which I had lost sight. As Christians, we are to always remember our God is gracious and loving, Romans 5:8; we are to fear God, Proverbs 1:7; we are to walk in His ways; we are to love Him above all else, Matthew 22:37; we are to obey Him; and we are to serve Him—not half-heartedly but fully, Deuteronomy 10:12. God blesses us when we observe these things. 

Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:13-14, NKJV, AMEN!

 God Bless!