God Has Done It Before and Will Do It Again

Deuteronomy 7:16-18 (NLT)
“You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you. Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.”

These past years have been tough for a lot of people, and many of them are allowing challenging times to injure their faith. They are reacting with uncontrolled anger and outbursts that betray the example of Jesus Christ. Others are internalizing the anger, and it’s making them ill emotionally, mentally, and physically. When our understanding of the truth about God doesn’t exceed the knowledge of our troubles, our minds can sink to thoughts of doubt and unbelief. Our hearts become disappointed and grieved because we don’t trust God enough to raise our level of faith above those thoughts and feelings of sadness. We need to know that this is a condition that can be turned around if we are willing to change the way we think.

God tells us in Romans 12:2(NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” The first part of this verse is very instructive for us because our Heavenly Father is telling us what we shouldn’t do. He’s also letting us know that society’s behaviors and customs can be very destructive to our faith and relationship with Him.

The world, or society, can be very negative and chooses for the most part to deny and reject God’s love and light. It shuns the things He values and loves the things He forbids. The world is a very confusing and chaotic place and if the thoughts and feelings that promote confusion and chaos find their way into our hearts and minds, we can start to go backward and instead of forward.

Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. So, wherever the Word of God is trusted and believed, faith hangs out there, and this is extremely important information for us to know. We can’t do anything without faith. If we’re sitting down, it takes faith to get up. If we’re walking, it takes faith to run. From the smallest to the greatest detail of life, every component runs on faith. Our victory and success depend on it, and this should motivate us to increase our faith in God and to do everything we possibly can to preserve our faith in Him.

When that doesn’t happen–when we’re at a standstill in our faith and we’re not doing what is necessary to preserve it, our minds and hearts are impacted. A lack of faith opens the door for sadness, doubt, insecurity, disappointment and other kinds of negativity to come in and make themselves at home. Whether or not they stay at home in our hearts and minds is completely left up to us.

In the Old Testament, the backdrop for Deuteronomy 7:16-18 speaks to the promise that God made to His people to give them a promised land. It’s clear to us from reading this passage that they couldn’t sit back with their hands tucked beneath their laps and do nothing. He commanded them to do what was necessary to take possession of the land and to take it by faith. Even though they were outnumbered and lacked the power of the other nations, they had to trust and believe God for victory. We must do the same, and the way that we get this done is to renew our minds to God’s Word and think thoughts that are in line with it.

Repeatedly, God backed His people and gave them victory and success. When it comes to causing the ones He loves to overcome adversity and obstacles, He’s done it before, and He’ll do it again. He receives the glory, and His name is magnified when we triumph and believe to receive all that He has in store for us. We might look at Deuteronomy 7:16-18 and think to ourselves, “Well, that was the Old Testament. God doesn’t show His power like that anymore.” Our Heavenly Father said in Malachi 3:6(NLT), “I am the LORD, and I do not change.” We change all the time, but our Heavenly Father never changes. So, we need to be confident that when we kick out thoughts of doubt and negativity and change the way we think, God will turn things around so that our circumstances and conditions begin to mirror our high opinion of Him and His power and love.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

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