“Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to
go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and
fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom
you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of
Anak?’
Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming
fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you.
So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has
promised you.
“Do not say in your
heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because
of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’
whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is
driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the
uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but
because of the wickedness of these
nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he
may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob.
Deuteronomy 9:1-5
When my husband read this today, two things jumped out at
me.
One was 'he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is
the Lord your God.'
It reminded me that no evil can stand up against my God. I
do not need to fear because He goes before me.
Now with that said, we cannot expect God to go before us as
this consuming fire if we have not been spending time in His Word, in prayer,
in listening and inquiring of Him. God does expect us to seek Him and His
wisdom in all things. So if you went running into something just because it was
bothering 'you' and you haven't been to church/fellowship, have not been in His
Word, you have not been praying according to His Word and you have not been
listening to the Spirit but listening to your flesh or the world......or maybe
you go to church for show or because it's a habit but you don't do anything
with what you are learning, you leave it at the door.......don't be surprised
when you feel the 'fire', when you don't see the Lord doing what you think He
should.
It is very important that we know our Father, we know His
ways and we KNOW that His Word is His protection over us; it is not to harm us.
We want His fire to go before us, He
makes the path.
I fought this for a long time. I did not want to change my
ways because I felt God was never there for me, especially in my childhood/teen
years. The only way I knew God was from people that had 'religion' and from
'men' that abused me. So it was a journey for me to even be able to call God my
Father.
I'm so thankful He is a patient God, wanting none to perish.
I'm grateful for those that were praying for me and loving me even at my
dirtiest. And I rejoice that I can now call Him my Father and I know His love
for me.
I know that as I obey Him when things come up all I have to
do is pray, listen and then obey because then -- that he who goes over before
you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God – will go before me and give me
the victory.
The second thing in this passage is - “Do not say in your
heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because
of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’
whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is
driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the
uprightness of your heart..
When the Consuming Fire has gone before you and destroyed
the resistance, the evil before you – do NOT take credit for it. Be careful
that you don’t say, ‘well I did this and that, yes I heard God but “I” did it.
Watch out for pride that says ‘I’m so upright and righteous that all this took
place’. NO it is always God and His righteousness that defeats the enemy. It is because of the wickedness that God
moves through them and makes a path for us. He is fulfilling His promises.
So when you know, hear and obey God; you see Him going
forward as the Consuming Fire, erasing your debt; healing your body; giving you
the money to pay your mortgage; blessing
you on your job; opening doors of opportunity that people said would
never happen……..don’t take any credit for it !
Give God all the glory, honor and praise!
(c) Has Breath Publishing LLC Christena Hammes
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