“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’” Deuteronomy 3:23-28
In one of the most poignant passages of Scripture, faithful Moses, almost 120 years old, pleads with the Lord with whom he’s walked humbly his whole life. From God’s marvelous protection at his birth, through 40 years raised, educated, and enmeshed in Egyptian culture; after his decades in Midian, the miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians through the Sea, and 38 years of desert wandering; now Moses proclaims that with the defeat of Sihon and Og he’s “only begun to see God’s greatness and mighty hand.” It’s hard to imagine his heart is not fully satisfied with all of God’s care and miracles and personal attention, but in fact, all he’s seen and known of his Lord has only caused craving for more.
Isn’t this inspiring? Shouldn’t the myriad of ways our God has acted and intervened on our behalf only whet our appetite for more of Him? With every new day, as the sun pokes its majestic colors through the dark yet once again, we are offered fresh promise. We can see new facets of His splendor, know Him better, love and trust and marvel in His ways more deeply. Our spiritual passion can be renewed, our soul cheer heightened, our anticipation of Christ’s fingerprints enhanced, our hope strengthened.
Have we grown complacent with, or apathetic toward, God’s graces? Has worldliness or self- effort numbed us to His supernatural deeds, His marvelous protections, guidance, and deliverances every day? Are we so distracted with lesser temporal things that we fail to behold the divine and everlasting? Do our urgent plans and frenetic strategies drown out His good and underlying purposes? Are we no longer thrilled with holy expectancy at who our God is, and all He continually does for His name’s sake?
Would we regularly recount our indescribable blessings in Christ, our encounters with His Spirit, our communion and fellowship with God, and say, “More, my Lord. Please, more.”
Father, your mercies are indeed new every morning. Awaken me daily to all that is fresh and new with You. Ignite my heart with joyful longing to know You better and love You more. (Isaiah 50:4; Lamentations 3:22-23)
As the rain and snow 