There is so much going on in my head at any given moment, it behooves me to make a concerted effort to slow down and center my thoughts often; otherwise I run the risk of chasing every fear and uncertainty down a twisted path, and I end up a hot mess. Heck, half the time I don’t even know what day is it lately because they all look the same. Tell me I’m not the only one?
I have been reading through Deuteronomy, and I came across a passage that has helped center my thoughts, and I wanted to share it with you. I think you will love it as much as I did.
The Lord your God commands you THIS DAY to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared THIS DAY that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to Him, that you will keep His decrees, commands and laws – that you will listen to Him. And the Lord has declared THIS DAY that you are His people, His treasured possession as He promised, and that you are to keep all His commands. He has declared that He will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations He has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He promised (Deuteronomy 26:16-19, emphasis mine).
If you grant me a little leniency here, I’d like to simply share with you what I wrote in my journal after I sat with these verses for a bit –
“I could read this passage every day, and the words would speak fresh because of the phrase… THIS DAY.
THIS DAY I am commanded to follow God’s laws and decrees with my whole heart and soul – not robotic like obedience, but obedience from my heart and soul. I am to declare THIS DAY that the Lord is my God and that I will walk in obedience and LISTEN to Him. This implies that God speaks and that I can hear Him. I never want to get over it! But there’s more…
And the Lord declared THIS DAY that I am His treasured possession, AS HE PROMISED.
Lord! I love your word!!
When I choose to make a declaration – You answer me with your own declaration! All on the same day!
THIS DAY!
As long as I have breath in my lungs and you give me life – I will choose THIS DAY to follow You with all of my heart and soul and gladly declare that You are my God. I will happily remember that You are faithful to Your promise that I am Your treasured possession, and You will make me holy and set me in praise, fame, and honor – to Your glory, O Lord!”
There are three themes that God has been continually teaching me in over the years, and this passage contains all three -
The importance of REMEMBERING (remembering who God is, what He has done/is doing, and who He declares me to be)
The importance of DAILY CHOICE (we should never take a single day off from choosing to remember) and
The principle of participating in God’s promises. (If God promised it, then it’s as good as done. If I want to experience it, I must participate in the promise…if you did Finding Joy with me last fall, you recognize this principle!)
Maybe THIS DAY, you could use a few reminders –
God isn’t just good, He’s good to YOU.
God isn’t just kind, He’s kind to YOU.
God isn’t just powerful, His power is available to YOU.
God isn’t just merciful, He’s merciful toward YOU.
God doesn’t just have an overall purpose, He has a purpose for YOU.
What day is it?
It’s a darn good day. It’s THIS DAY.
What will you do with it?