Remember the Whole Way

“You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna,.. that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out and your foot did not swell… So you shall keep [his] commandments by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the [he] is bringing you into a good land of brooks of water, fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, [and] will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. You shall eat and be full, and bless the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 8:2-4,6-10

Moses was used by God to impart a long view to the people of Israel. The Lord worked through decades in Moses’s life to develop him as His humble leader and friend. In their daily wrangle of difficulties and opposition, he was the appropriate messenger to remind them of God’s big picture. As they entered the promised land, they needed to remember that God works on a heavenly timetable in heavenly ways, and to trust, fear, obey, and bless Him in every season.

It is natural in the flesh to prefer certain stages of life over others and want happiness in them all. Sometimes we relish only the good, glossing over or choosing to forget the pain, neglect, and sins of the past because we do not want to deal with them, by confession or forgiveness. Sometimes we remember only the shame, regrets, and hurt, and in bitterness fail to acknowledge how God has faithfully met and carried us, bringing help and comfort. The Lord would have us remember the whole way He has led, through briars and beauty.

God designs the life of a pilgrim to be marked by a variety of circumstances and experiences. To grow in Christ-likeness, we need both bitter and sweet, stretching and consoling, darkness and illumination. We tend to pray for one way for one outcome, when God knows the opposite would bring about His better results: more conforming to His image, deeper faith, greater revelation of His character, wider testimony to His grace, more glory to His renown. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,11)

Where am I fickle in devotion and gratitude to the Lord? Do I pick and choose where I want to be grateful, and complain or resist the unpleasant? How has He proven Himself in the past, teaching me that He orders and works in all things for my good and sanctification? Will I commit to look for Him in every situation, and to praise Him for the varied ways He guides and provides? Remembering God through the whole of life increases expectation, hope, and zeal for His marvelous work to be done.

Lord God, may I pass the test of thanksgiving to You in all things, at all times, and may my life be a testimony to Your goodness, constancy, and glory.