“Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.” ~Deuteronomy 7:21-23
I’ll never forget one day on the beach years ago on a personal retreat when He so gently whispered, “You can’t be an overcomer if you haven’t got anything to overcome!”
I remember the peace and joy-almost laughter that flooded as I thought, well, I’ve got that alright!
I see such a parallel here, and it encourages my socks off. God delivered Israel from Egypt, saved them from captivity. They were spared by the blood of a lamb over the doorposts, and made a miraculous exit across the Red Sea. It’s such a beautiful parallel to the Red Sea of Jesus blood on the cross that saved me. For the Israelites, this miraculous escape was THE event that they were called on to remember again and again and again. And for me that cross is THE event that I must remember again and again and never lose sight of. It was, is, and always will be the proof…undeniable, irreversible, complete and perfect proof of God’s complete and perfect love for me. It will always and forever be enough.
But just like for Israel I am convinced that it doesn’t stop there. God had a land for them to possess. He’d already given it; they just had to take it. Paul said in Phillipians 3, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” I too have a land to possess, having been given more in Christ that I could ever imagine.
The problem is that as was the case for the Israelites, there are giants to be dealt with. There are enemies. I have them too, within and without, but now I speak primarily of those within. There are strongholds to be taken down. Ugly things in me that hinder me from walking in all that He has given.
So I take encouragement from two things in this passage.
1. He will overcome them.
2. He will do it little by little.
I may not end up surrounded by wild animals should he wipe them all out at once, but am fairly certain that my pride would raise its ugly head and threaten to steal the life from me.
He is so merciful! He is so good. He’s dealing with my “stuff…” little by little.
And HE will get ALL the glory!
amywalkerwrites
Sixty-six books in a year 