Details

Have you ever filled out a check, attached it to your bill and then mailed it in? Of course many of you have! But have you ever received the same check back in the mail after a few days returned to you because you forgot one little detail..... You forgot to sign the check! Well, if you haven't, you've missed one of the egg in the face moments where the evidence is before you....We missed a very important detail.

Did you realize that God is into details? Now I am not talking about signing a little check that in light of eternity, is so insignificant. But I am talking about the details of our lives. Minute' details that we are so often NOT privy to. Today's treasure is found in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 7...

No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you and he is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you...7:21-22

The children of Israel were making their way on their journey to the promised land. God is reminding them of all the nations they had already seen HIM crush before them. HE knew that even more and greater nations and challenges were before them. He knew they would fall prey to fear of these mighty nations. So what specifically does He say...

1) DO NOT BE AFRAID... Looking into their future He knew one of their enemies was going to be fear. It's a dreadful enemy. It can surface in many ways and many places. For them it could have been the sheer size of their enemy. Or the number of warriors they possessed. Or even the type of artillery they had prepared. Or perhaps their past brutality on other nations. God said....(in Bruce's paraphrase of course) NO PROBLEM!!! Why? Because the LORD YOUR GOD is among you! HE is Great and AWESOME!

Fear is really about focus. If we are focusing on the enemy, the opposition, the problem or circumstance we will lose focus of HIM! God said....look to HIM! Look AT HIM! HE can and will turn certain defeats into victories!!

2) YOU WILL BE VICTORIOUS... This is HIS PROMISE to them. Now I love that. Many promises in life are broken but NEVER a promise from our wonderful GOD! That is why we should learn and lean on those promises. They are the ONLY ones to NEVER be broken. Notice the next portion of this verse however. He even tells them that their victories will be one by one or as HE says little by little.

I often tell those whom I counsel that sometimes God gives us home runs (complete and absolute, one shot victories) but most often HE gives us a single at a time (baseball terminology for those non baseball types). We want Home runs and HE gives us singles, one base at a time. We cover the same territory but not nearly as fast nor as easy as we would like. Sometimes we know why HE does this as in James 1:2-5 to grow us to maturity but often we do not get the full detail of what HE is doing.

In this passage God shares with them why HE is not going to give them quick, total victory all at once. ..."The wild animals would multiply too quickly for you." WHOA....This is powerful. They hadn't even considered any of that. All Israel saw was the enemy before them. The Nations who dwelt in the land. BUT God saw all the obstacles to Israel even those years down the road of their journey.

Isn't that just like our God? He see's so far in our future that HE orders today's events to not only prepare us but also to protect us. Israel would have gotten complete and total cleansing of the land if they had their way and then they would have brought the wild animal dilemma upon themselves. People would have been killed, maimed and fear would have gripped their lives as the wild animals would have overrun them.

So, when it doesn't seem like God is hearing or answering your prayers fast enough. When it doesn't appear things are happening in the fullness you desire, aka "homeruns" it may be because your loving Father is protecting you or even your next generation, your children. You see, He is into details....Trust HIM with and in the events of your lives....

You'll be glad you did.
Blessings
Bruce