By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo
Deuteronomy 1:43-44 "So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the LORD's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah…"
The Lord had told them, through Moses, not to go and fight the Amorites because He wouldn’t be with them. But they decided to go against the Lord’s command to fight. They forgot that every victory they got before was because God was with them. But they miserably lost the battle and came back crying to the God they had ignored. They had taken God so much for granted that, in their arrogance, they thought they could ignore His instructions and still succeed without Him.
The human heart many times wants to have it’s own way. It sees the ways of God as burdensome, restrictive and at times out of context. Because it wants to take the credit for the success and victory, and under demonic influence, it attempts to do things without God. Like the Israelites in the scenario above, it’s only until we miserably fail in our own human efforts, that we can learn to truly depend on God. Unfortunately, some hearts remain hardened even after such lessons.
God calls us to depend on Him. This doesn’t mean a passive ‘seat-and-wait’ approach. We can be doing whatever needs to be done in normal life routines while sensitive to ideas and strategies He gives. Because He knows it all, seeing the end from the begining, He wants to lead us in paths of success and victory. And then we praise Him at then end. May our hearts not be rebellious and arrogant against God. Let’s learn from the wiseman;
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil." Proverbs 3:5-7
Shalom children of God.