As Moses continued his review of their Wilderness journey to open Deuteronomy, he gave this account:
"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.' In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deuteronomy 1:29-33).
Moses advised and cautioned the people not to be afraid and on top of that, they saw the Lord work on their behalf. Yet "in spite of this," they chose not to trust the Lord. Perhaps you have done the same thing.
Due to our fallen nature, it can be difficult to accept the perspective of another where our gifts and purpose are concerned. We want to reserve the right to evaluate and categorize our talent and impact on others. Someone may say, "Your painting is so good," but you say, "No, it's not. The blue isn't the right blue and the resemblance to what I was drawing isn't there." Someone may say, "This meal you made was wonderful," but you say, "Thanks, but the meat was overdone and the potatoes weren't right." You are acting just like the people in the Wilderness who stubbornly refused to trust anyone's perspective but their own—not even God's.
Where have you dismissed your own significance even though others have been pointing it out to you? Is it difficult for you to receive a compliment with which you don't agree, especially where your talents and gifts are concerned? Where are you stubbornly resisting your own effectiveness and perhaps even greatness where your creativity and purpose are concerned?
Comments