Whose Power?
Daily Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 8-11
Daily Focus Passage: Deuteronomy 8
The Lord called the people to prepare to enter the Promised Land. The journey ahead meant the people faced nations of great strength and power. The children of Israel needed to lean into the Lord and trust him for a victorious entrance. The Lord declared to the people that obtaining the Land would not occur by their hands, but the conquering came through the strength and power of the Lord alone. Today, we must seek to give God the glory for the strength and power to claim the victories in life. Deuteronomy 8 challenges us to recognize whose power we claim victory.
THE LIE WE BELIEVE
The enemy seeks to confuse us about the strength by which we claim victory. The evil one is the Father of Lies and aims to bring us to the place of believing some lies about the blessings and victories we experience. We must guard against believing in the life we obtain through power and ability. These thoughts place the self as the center of all activity and elevate one’s worth and ability beyond the level one should. When we believe this lie, we begin to misunderstand the glory, power, and goodness of the Lord. Thus, the lie we believe threatens our life.
The lie tempts us to fall prey to idolatry. The presence of idolatry does not center on the worship of other things but occurs in the worship and celebration of the self. We trip over the threat of glorifying the self and neglecting to honor the Lord for all he has done, is doing, and will do. Thus, believing in the lie sets us down a path of living outside the truth. You may not believe a lie about your ability but your inability or self-worth. What lie do you believe misrepresents the Lord and keeps you from living for him authentically and in truth?
THE UNDERLYING TRUTH
The ability to remain in truth rests in building our life on the foundation of Christ. This foundation means that we allow truth to be the ground we plant our roots. When we find our foundation in the Lord, we believe that the Lord provides the power needed for the journey ahead. He gives the required power to claim the victory only available to him. At the same time, we must understand that the blessings come from the Lord, not from our ability.
The underlying truth exists that this all occurs due to the promises of the Lord and not our worthiness of us. We do not deserve the blessings of the Lord. We do not earn the favor of the Lord. The foundational truth is that the love of the Lord extends to us as he fulfills the promises of victory, life, and blessing. When you approach various aspects of life, do you gaze at them through the lies we fall prey to, or do you rest in the underlying truth of the power, presence, and victory of the Lord?
WHAT IS AT STAKE
The difference between living in truth or living life believing a lie carries an eternal impact. When one lives in the lies of the evil one, the punishment comes in death and defeat. The people of Israel received the caution that not trusting the Lord would lead to defeat and not receiving the blessing the Lord desired for them to experience. At the same time, if the people lived truthfully, the gift of life and victory in the Promised Land would become a reality. When we live in truth today, we claim the victories provided by the Lord and hope for the ultimate victory in the Promised Land of Heaven in the presence of the Lord. What controls your life, the lies of this world or the truth of the Lord?
