10 He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. 14 In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. 15 So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.

An in-depth study of the history of the Israelites reveals that these few verses summarize their entire past. They saw the mighty power of God in deliverance and were provided for by his gracious hand. They enjoyed his blessings time and time again. Yet, each time they would soon forget God and in various ways reject him, his word and his leading. God would then punish them and they would repent. The cycle would then be repeated. But before we become too critical of them we need to look honestly at ourselves. We plead for God to take care of us, to help us, to comfort us and to provide our every need (and want). God is so gracious and forgives us of all the times we have accosted him by our behavior and then takes care of us and blesses us. We enjoy his blessings time and time again. Then we become complacent in our dedication to him. We fail to serve him as we should or we become involved in things that mar his glorious name. We begin to love the world and the things of this world and forget that we cannot serve two masters – and God comes in second. We (too often) like Israel of old, want God’s blessings and protection but without the restriction of serving him and trusting in him and praising him as our only God.

How do we avoid this trap of the devil? We must devote our heart to him and re-commit it each day. We trust him and rehearse what he has done and is doing in our lives on a regular basis. We openly talk about his grace to us. But even more than these, we study his word so that we know his will and even more, so that we know him. We use this knowledge so that we can become more like him every day in our thinking which then changes our lives. We spend time in prayer. We listen to God and we talk to God – in that order. We then trust him in all things.

O God, please help me to keep my eyes on Jesus so that I don’t forget your gracious forgiveness, your tender care, your constant protection and your abundant provisions. Strengthen me to re-commit my life to you every day and to turn it over to you in absolute trust. Give me wisdom to know you and live for you by becoming more like you. Fill me with your love and mercy and use me to encourage others. I pray in Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we yield to his Spirit’s leading.