Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Yesterday, we learned about how God’s words can sustain us during times of poverty. We learned that our tendency during hard times is to say, “God doesn’t care about me.” or “He can’t help me.” But what about when we are going through times of plenty? All is perfect, right? Today, we will explore this a bit further.

Life itself is like a roller coaster ride. We all go through seasons of struggles, but fortunately, we also get to experience periods when all is well and we’re living on top of the world. Truth be told, though, it is just as easy to fall into the trap of drifting away from God during our best days as it is during our worst. Even though we sometimes come to the hopeless conclusion that God isn’t with us during our struggles, it is in those exact situations when people tend to look to God more diligently. But, be honest with yourself, how often do you seek out God when everything is going well?

I know I can easily fall into the trap of thinking things like, I don’t need God right now. Or, how about, I’m doing fine on my own. These beliefs can be very dangerous and self-destructive.

Deuteronomy 8:19
“But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.”

God’s plans are to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He provides for our every need, but he also wants us to have a deep, sustained relationship with him and remain grateful for the gift of this Son, Jesus. It is in these times, out of love and gratitude, that we should pursue an even deeper relationship with God by exploring, memorizing, and living out his Word.

We should heed the same warning God had Moses give to the Israelites when they were about to enter the Promised Land thousands of years ago.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14
¹¹ “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! ¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.”

God rescued us from the slavery of sin, and through his Son, Jesus, gave us the promise of everlasting life with him. The only thing he asks of us in return is to be faithful to him in all seasons, good and bad.

I like to look at it this way—our spiritual walk should not be a two-way street where we move toward God when we are struggling and away from him when life is good. Rather our spiritual walk is a one-way alley, where we are always and only moving toward him, no matter what life brings our way.

Question:
How does your relationship with God differ during times of plenty and times of struggle?

Do you take time daily to praise God for what he has done in your life?

Next Steps:
Set aside 10 minutes a day to practice The Daily in the new CedarCreek app.

Also, be sure to check out the “Featured” section of the app for an interesting article and four ways to study scripture.

Prayer:
Loving Father, you are an awesome God and worthy of all praise. I am ashamed to admit that I don’t always faithfully seek you when life is going well. Help me to remember that you want an intimate relationship with me during all seasons of my life. Help me to avoid the two-way street relationship and develop a one-way alley, always moving toward you. Help me to seek the wisdom of your words in times of poverty and in times of plenty. I love you and am so thankful for your love. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

John 14:26
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

This post was written by Ned Miller, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut.