Week 18: April 30th – May 6th (Stayed long enough on this Mountain)
Stayed Long Enough on this Mountain
Week 18: April 30th – May 6th
Bible passage to read: Deuteronomy 1:6
“Any person that loves his father or mother more than he loves me is not good enough to follow me. Any person who loves his son or daughter more than he loves me is not good enough to follow me.” Matthew 10:37
The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill-country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.’” (Deuteronomy 1:6-8)
The Israelites journeyed three months from Egypt to Mount Horeb where they stayed almost two full years. Their life on Mount Horeb was rather pleasant. They were fed by the Lord, their clothes and possessions did not wear out, they had rest from their travels, and they had the Lord as a covering from the heat during the day and a pillar of fire to warm them at night. For two years they lived a peaceful existence on Mount Horeb. Then one day, the Lord appears and tells them to move out.
As Christians, we can find ourselves settling into a place we think is comfortable, enjoying our own Mount Horeb experience until God instructs us that it is time to move on and get what God has in store for us. However, it is not the end of all that God has for us. Mount Horeb is a transitional experience from the life we used to live the life God still has in store for us. No matter how enjoyable our time on Mount Horeb might be, there will come a day when God will come to us and call us to move out. This can be evident in our lives, God might tell us to leave a job for a better one, a country (e.g. Nigeria). These are the examples of Mount Horeb in our lives.
Truth is that before we can get to that Promise Land, we need to follow God’s laws (Deuteronomy 12:1). These laws relate to how we were to live once we entered the Promised Land. However, we must keep the commandments of God (Exodus 20:1), so that the Lord promises in (Deuteronomy 28:1) will be ours and our descendants.
Is the word of the Lord to you that it’s time for you to move out? As with any journey, there are risks. You may have to live outside of your comfort zone, you may have to say goodbye to some relationships in order to form new ones, and you may be called to take on new responsibilities; beginning to do what previously you watched others do for you. But with the risks, there is also a great reward (Psalm 19:11) (Deuteronomy 5:29). For it is only by leaving Mount Horeb that we can come into our own Promise Land. Today the Lord is telling us that it is now the time. Now is the time that we go up and possess our Promise Land.
Devotional Prayer Points
- Oh Lord, empower me with the grace to move to the next level of my life in Jesus name
- I rebuke all evil spirits of stagnancy in every aspect of my life in Jesus name
- Oh Lord, I am not satisfied with my present position, move me to the next level in Jesus name
- I shall not be a servant in my generation; I shall be a role model to look up to at every part of my life in Jesus name.
- There shall not be any reverse to the fast rate of my progress in life in Jesus name.
Author: Evangelist Daniel Daramola
Author: CCC Handbook Weekly Devotional
CCC Seventh Year Parish 2
UK
