15 MAY 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional
“Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live on bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deut. 8:3
There are descriptions of God that put a gloss on or over his attributes and actions. We know that God is love, but that is not some gooey nice caricature. There is more to God than meets the eye and his ways are not fully known. When things don’t go our way or we suffer in this life, complaints are made. What is going on? Why me?
It doesn’t help that other people will make mocking comments like, if God loved you wouldn’t be suffering. People and our problems can make us doubt God and his faithfulness to us. Are we really faithful to him? God shapes, develops, and corrects us through suffering and trials. All suffering is ordained by Him, but not all of it comes directly from Him.
In this passage, the suffering of hunger is coming from God as a correction and to shape Israel’s understanding of Him. From the basics of food to the complexity of the human body or the universe, God controls everything. We think control of life is ours, but God is in control. We are fully dependent on Him whether we believe in Him or not.
Trials and suffering can come on us in order for us to learn this. We can learn the easy way or the hard way. The majority learn the hard way because we are hard-headed just like the Israelites. Know this, the Lord wants us to fully rely on Him and give the honor that is due His name. He plans on developing us into the people He desires us to be.
Are you fully reliant on God?
Reading Plan: Psalm 80; Deut. 8:1-10; James 1:1-15; Luke 9:18-27
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