It All Comes From God

Good Day,

Deuteronomy 8:11-18 (NIV)
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, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 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, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

In my lifetime, and even not too long ago, have heard "good Christians" who brag about how they have prospered because of their great ideas and the work of their hands. I've even heard some who have said that they have prospered greatly even though they have not been all that obedient to the rules of good living that we read in the Bible...both Old and New Testaments. (This ISN'T about any particular covenant today, please.)

I would quote one verse in what we read today, lest we forget where all of our good fortune ultimately comes from. "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."

Much too often, I fear, we take the credit for the talents and abilities that God has blessed us with and, thus, take credit for the wealth created in our lives.

Simply put, my friends, without God and what He has blessed us with, we are nothing. As we read just the other day, ""I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 5:15) I believe this is true both in our spiritual lives as well as in our physical lives. If God doesn't give it to us, we don't have it; if we don't have it, we can't use it; if we can't use it, we won't earn it.

So, whatever it is that we've accumulated in our lives comes, ultimately, from God and the various ways He's blessed us.

Let's not lose track of that fact.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David