Day #13: Speaking of Promised Lands
[If you want to know how and why this devotional came into existence feel free to read this]
What you will need:
- A Bible
- This Devotional
- Some Coloring Utensils
- And a print out of this awesome coloring sheet designed by Joel Swick (Instagram and Dribble)
(Here is the week #1 and the week # 2 sheet designed by Nic Mansfield)
Theme: Promise and Blessing
Passage for March 13th 2017: Deuteronomy 11:1-15
Bars from “Blessings (Reprise)”
I speak of promised lands
Soil as soft as momma's hands
Running water, standing still
Endless fields of daffodils and chamomile
A Thought:
God wants us to have a life marked with rest, margin, good food and security. Unlike the life of scarcity which is the foundation of the dominating economic system, God wants to provide a life of wholeness and abundance. God’s people are about to walk into the land where this life is possible. I wonder what was going through their head as they were about to embark on the next stage of their journey?
If it were me, I would have had a hard time believing God wants me to have the promise land life in front of me. My skepticism is rooted, like so much of my brokenness, in my past. My perception of the Lord is that when I pray God doesn’t show up. God is unreliable when I have the most need. The opposite side of my skepticism coin, is that I don’t deserve the what is in store. I have messed up too many times. I must be disqualified. There is no way God would let a screw up like me into a this promised land life.
These stories I tell my self I do not think are isolated to me. In the last 10 years of ministry and an uncountable number of conversations with people about God, these are two very prominent themes. So it is not a surprise to me that God asks them to be reflective as they are about to walk into the promised land. The Lord is asking them to remember all of the times they walked away and God restored them. God is asking His people to remember all the times it didn’t seem like there was a way out and He showed up. All of those stories we tell ourselves about why the Promise Land life God has doesn’t apply to us are lies. God wants this life for you. Our Lord is always faithful. Our God always shows up.
Here are the questions I am asking myself today: Why do I feel disqualified from the Promised Land life that God has in store? Why do I believe the Lord won’t show up when I need it the most? Do I believe that God actually wants that life for me?
Mediation: Psalm 46:8-10
Today is the first day of this theme. As you read the Psalm today choose choose one verse and try to commit it memory. Say it to your self at different places through out the day. As you start this weeks coloring sheet, take a moment and ask the Lord to speak to you this week.