Dear Lord, I don’t often take time to look back over my life to see where I’ve been. Or evaluate how I got here. But this is what Moses is doing for these young Israelite people who are about to come into their promised land.
Because their fathers and mothers rebelled against You and died in the desert over those last forty years, it is important that these young people know where they came from and how they got there.
Namely, that it was You who delivered them and their parents from slavery, which they probably don’t remember; and led them through the desert, which has been their only memory; and brought them to this place of promise, which they may or may not have been taught was promised long ago to their forefathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It is important that they see that You are their Deliverer, and their Promise Keeper. That is was You who has brought them out of four hundred years of slavery with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. They need to be aware of the miracles You did to free them from the Pharaoh.
One perspective on the relationship is that they need to understand You are a deserving, willing, and capable Bridegroom who has a marriage covenant with them, so they will remain faithful to You. This is difficult for a generation who mostly missed the amazing, miraculous way You interceded on their behalf.
So it impresses upon me now, that I should take time to see where I have come from, where I am going, and how Your hand has blessed me all along the way. So many times You have protected me and helped me through hardship. Recalling those times helps strengthen my faith in You.
Knowing how You came through in the past allows me to trust You more now, and be strong in the face of trouble. I once made a time line of how You had impacted my life at crucial points. With my aging memory, it helps to see those times written down, that confirm Your faithfulness to me.
Life can sometimes seem like a desert, a dry time of focusing more on what I don’t have than what I do have. While I do not have monetary riches or fame, I have truly been given what I have needed, not lacking anything. And I can truly say that “You have watched over my journey through this vast desert. You have truly blessed me, and been with me.”
Unlike Moses, it has been over forty years for me. Time to take a moment and give You thanks. Amen
Daily Bible Prayer 