What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer connects.
It completes the circuit between man and God that illuminates our world.

All we think, feel, need, and desire is conveyed to God with prayer opening a channel through which, in turn, God speaks to our spirits.

Silent, aloud, written, or in spirit, God is our multilingual resource linking us to powers, answers, and directions we cannot possess alone.

No other people are granted such unconditional access to the God of creation as we are.

No rituals or preparations, no conditions or entry fees, nothing stands in the way God has made for us to speak and to hear divine conversation.

Praying without ceasing is the will of God who longs to hear from you today and everyday.

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Reflecting upon how we arrived where we are now, most of us are hindsight critics.

If only I’d taken that different job, made that different decision, or chosen that other pathway.

In doing so we completely miss the sovereignty of God.

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps—Proverbs 16:9

Life lived in reflective regret changes nothing.

You are where you are entirely by providence. And God is pleased.

Accept your position even though it wasn’t part of your plan. I am convinced he will reveal to you how each step served a divine purpose.

Big picture, folks.

Big picture.

But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭32‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You are not invincible.

Call it karma, paying the piper, or conscience itself, sin always bubbles up and finds you out, revealing itself at the least opportune moment.

Run, lie, cover and hide, but nothing escapes the notice of God.

There will always be that one fatal flaw that ends your flight and exposes your story.

God relentlessly pursues our truth because his love for us is driven by his desire for our purity and clarity.

Coming clean is an ugly but necessary step toward redemption we all must face at some point.

Everyone has a secret they have spent too much on keeping.

And how human it is to still believe we’re winning.

God knows and cares and wants desperately to relieve the suffering we endure.

When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭30‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I don’t know about you but I have broken more covenants with God over the years than I dare count.

Vows to do this, pledges to do that, promises that come up empty.

Nearly all have been my best intentions defeaten by my worst compulsions.

The cycle can wear you down with guilt, shame, and an encroaching resolve to make fewer promises as the best solution.

Truth is, being in a spiritual battle for righteousness is, itself, the signal to God of your redemption, which in the end is what ultimately matters.

Continue making vows, that’s not the problem. The problem is how you’re going about keeping them.

The solution is found in the prayer for your process and skills to be more successful and to know in the meantime, God understands.

Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The waters that flowed that day at Meribah were God’s answer to the perpetual complaints of this thirsting thankless mob he calls his own.

The capacity for human selfishness, mistrust and faithlessness is mind blowing.

I suppose it shouldn’t be. But rather what is truly mind blowing is that God loves us in spite of ourselves. It’s a tall order but he fills it to overflowing (contextual pun intended.)

Water from a rock.
Is there nothing he won’t provide for us in our time of need?

Jehovah Jireh.

I think not. 

God has an unusual sense of humor.

The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it.

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lesson: Don’t complain about the manna.

“But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?” The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lesson: Don’t question God’s ability to provide.

In each instance, God made good on his promise to all the complaining Karens. They met the manager alright!

We serve a God who always makes his point crystal clear.

Even when witnessing miracles of providing foods like manna and then quail for his chosen people, we complain like Karens in a fine restaurant.

It’s not enough to be thankful.

Lesson: Don’t be a Karen.

Asking to see the Manager with a complaint instead of with a thankful heart might kill your appetite altogether.

If the Bible is an instruction manual, then the book of Numbers is the fine print.

Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged.”

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Details were critical. The drive to get everything just right—keeping every letter of the law—was all-consuming.

Jesus put an end to that performance freeing up our time and attention to focus on love over law, faith over form, purpose over perfection.

The Bible leaves no stones unturned. It speaks precisely to our human conditions from which there is no escape, but every forgiveness.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The significance of the Israelites exodus from Egyptian slavery is one referenced over and over in the Old Testament.

Preceded by God’s many miracles, signs and wonders, the event marked a new covenant of faith and the elevation of Gods chosen people.

Today, those called by God who respond in faith to that call, are also to walk with heads held high for both whose we have chosen to become and whose we now are.

It’s a pride to possess without shame on a road less traveled without indetermination.

Heads held high are bought for a price by a God whose army is being assembled for the coming victory.

I never used to be like this.

I’d wake up anxious, ruled by the ‘what ifs’ of the day ahead and what to do to defend against consequences of the yet unknown.

It’s a miracle how things have changed.

For these many years since I first acquiesced to the fact I’m not in charge, my first waking thoughts are now less ‘what if?’ and a lot more ‘maybe today!’

What a hopeful difference it offers to my morning outlook.

I’m not sure exactly when I pivoted from viewing time and unfolding experience as the enemy instead of my comrade and frankly, I don’t wonder much about it anymore since the view is so much better looking at life as a heavenly menu of possibilities versus dodging the anxious unknowns.

But at some divine moment, anxiety turned away to reveal anticipation, its friendlier counterpart. And mornings haven’t been the same since.

Looking expectantly to the day’s unexpected revelations sure beats blind strategizing against them as foreboding enemies.

There’s an untapped power in ‘maybe today’ thinking and a good morning is what you make of it.

Try plugging into the power of expectancy and today might just be yours for the taking.

Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A rare ‘do’ among the notorious ‘do nots’ chapter in the Old Testament commands us to care for and respect the elderly among us.

Since I was a young man I have held highest regard for the aged.

Literally hundreds of posts and stories about their care and welfare have made it on my pages.

Now as I pull into that same station in my own life, I watch for others who also carry their banners. They are my people.

If you want to know the civility and humanity of a people, you’ll find it in how they regard their elders.

They are our almost buried stories, historians of our culture, and bearers of moral codes that move us forward.

Pray particularly for the gifts of patience and empathy that recognize and acknowledge their contributions and worth.

Soon, you will also arrive at that depot and need to be met by a tribe that knows the value of your journey.