Do Not Forget the Lord.

The other day, I opened my Bible for the first time in almost two weeks. I had avoided, excused and simply forgotten my devotions, and the guilt was beginning to set in. One night before bed I decided to open my Bible to where my reading plan had left off and read the passage for that day. The very first words I read as the heading above Deuteronomy chapter 8 were:

“Do not forget the Lord.”

Hmm, what a coincidence. Except, God doesn’t work through coincidences. So God was basically telling me what He wanted to tell me in the most obvious way. Don’t forget about God!

I had allowed myself to fill my schedule with work, family and friends and had put God on the back burner of my life. I had justified my actions with excuses like “but I’ll need the money next year, I have no choice but to work now!” or “I haven’t seen my family for a month, shouldn’t I be spending my time with them?!”. I’m telling you, I told myself and God just about every excuse I could think of.

Then I opened my Bible, and read that friendly little reminder from God. As I continued reading in that chapter, I got to verse 3. It talks about how God provided for the Israelites with manna to teach them that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” While I had not been surviving off of manna for the past few weeks, I have been filling my schedule with what I wanted rather than with God. While I have been in prayer, I haven’t been in the Word learning more about Him.

After reading this verse, I realized that God was trying to tell me something else too.

I can’t get by living with me in charge of my life. Nothing I try to do for myself will satisfy, and nothing I accomplish will be enough for me. No matter what I try to do in my life, God is the only one who can truly make me live. His promises, His love, His very existence is what makes me truly alive.

Sure I can live, but God makes me ALIVE.