“Did ever people hear the Voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?”
Deuteronomy 4:33
If you think about it, all of our claims of faith must sound pretty far-fetched or unbelievable to those who still dwell in darkness.
In every believer’s life there comes what Henry Blackaby calls “a crisis of faith.” This is a time when your faith is being “tried by fire” (I Pet. 1:7a) and devilish doubts begin to arise. It may be a family crisis. It may be a personal crisis. But it’ll always be a time when your faith is tested to the limit and you wonder if everything you’ve believed for so many years is actually true or not.
Such was the question Moses posed in today’s Manna as he stood before the Israelites, challenging them to “go in and possess the Promised Land which the Lord God of their fathers had promised them” (Dt. 4:1). To reinforce this, he reminded them of God’s Covenant and the importance of “not adding to or diminishing any portion of it as they cleaved to Him and implicitly obeyed Him in all things” (vv.2-6, 9).
He then reminded them of how their God was “nigh unto them and His statutes and judgments were righteous” (vv.7-8). And, he also reminded them of how God “had taken them out of the iron furnace—even out of Egypt—to be unto Him a People of inheritance” (v.20).
Yet, in recounting all of this he also reminded them that their God “is a consuming fire, even a jealous God” (v.24). And, their failure to remember this would certainly lead to dire consequences (vv.25-28).
But, through it all his major stress was upon God’s Greatness and the fact that He had willingly chosen to reveal Himself to them. Truly, it was His own initiative and entrance into intimate fellowship with Him was solely “by invitation only.”
And, the reason?
“So you (we) might know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else besides Him” (v.35).
And, in this day-and-age of relativism and “I’m my own authority,” this Truth is desperately needed to be heard and heeded.
That’s why it’s vitally important for us to be grounded in God’s Word and anointed by the Holy Spirit as we say “Thus saith the Lord.” If we go in our own strength, we shall soon grow weak, discouraged and disillusioned. However, when we operate in the Holy Spirit’s “unction” (I Jn. 2:20), we can rest assured He’ll be the One convincing them that what we say is true.
What a blessed privilege it is to be a “co-laborer together with God” (I Cor. 3:9). What a joy it is to know the Risen Lord resides within us as we go forth in His Name. And, what blessed assurance to know the same One Who saved us is the same One Who sends us out into a lost-and-dying world, saying “Did you know that God loves you and has a plan for your life?” May we be found faithful in our task.
May 21, 2011
