Meditate on it, Day and night – Unable to drive, failed to dislodge – Your God, My God – Given over to the Lord – Your own mouth testifies against you

This week I read chapter ones from the first half of the historical books of the Old Testament. God gave Israel the command to meditate on what Moses told them day and night. We have to know that the Israelites did not magically obtain scrolls wandering in the desert and have Moses write everything down that God wanted them to know. Moses had to have told them over and over and they had to memorize it to pass it along to their children and keep it for their older selves. The Word of God is so important that we need to spend time in it every day and every night.

The tragic thing about the promised land is that no sooner had they entered then the Israelites failed to hold up their end of the bargain as they could not make themselves drive or dislodge everyone already living there. It is like us trying to drive or dislodge sin from our lives. We have parts of the worldly aspects of our lives that we just do not want to give up.

I have a special place in my heart for the name Ruth and the part of her story captured in the phrase “Your God, My God”. Naomi lost her husband and both of her sons, but her life was so focused on God, that Ruth still wanted to follow the God that Naomi followed. Is our goal to follow God so closely that others are bound to be drawn to want the same? Not often. I am still learning how to be a better example, but it is definitely more a journey than a destination.

I often forget that Samuel was the little boy who went to live with the priest as soon as he was weaned. I always think of him as the one who anointed the kings. His mom suffered bullying for ages until she finally bargained with God to make it stop. I am not sure we are to learn that from her story, but she followed through with her promise once God gave her a son. Hannah asked for a son that she soon gave up to rid her life of the bullying. Seems like a hefty price to pay for a want some probably think is a minor point. When we die to ourselves and give our lives over to the Lord in response to His giving His son, then we can understand the better lessons to learn from this story.

The next phrase is from the story of the alien who dared to kill the king and act as if it was nothing. David had struggled with the temptation to kill Saul and end the horrible life he led trying to follow God and stay ahead of his king who was trying to kill him out of envy. David had many opportunities to kill Saul and several in which he made it know to Saul. David had been anointed to be king, but even he would not kill God’s chosen one. When we do not understand the holiness of the life God has called us to, we often testify about our own sin without knowing it.

I passed a test today, and no it was not just that I did not honk at the person who was taking forever to turn right out of the parking lot. Six years ago when I got to leave BP, I had so many options of what to do, that I hardly seemed to make any progress. I have had a slow week or two lately and I have been trying to take advantage of the opportunity to make a few options a little more real. The one today was something I believe that I am well suited to, but not sure if it will have significant impact. The other two later in the week seem about the same. But I am trying to listen to God, to see the path He has before me, and trying to focus on following, and not on the results. If nothing else, I believe I am learning to know the call on God better as I listen. There are not a lot of things about sheep that I want to emulate, but following my Shepherd is one of them.