July 22, 2024
Melissa Valerio
When my oldest son started 6th grade, I decided it was time he got a cell phone. When is the “right” time? Well, I suppose that’s different for every family. But, for me, this was the time. Upon handing it to him and going over the times he’s allowed to use it and for which purposes, I also warned him that if he misused his phone, I would take it away. In addition, there would be consequences at school if he used his phone during class. He understood and agreed to abide by the rules.
We’re no stranger to consequences. We all understand that if we break the law, there are legal consequences like fines, community service, or even prison. If we eat only fast food for a prolonged length of time, we ruin our bodies. If we neglect our relationships, they fall apart. This is no secret; we’ve all experienced the cause and effect in life. But the most dangerous consequence in life is also the most imperceptible. The consequence of turning away from God.
In Deuteronomy 28, we are given a list of blessings if we follow God with all our hearts. But then we’re given a list of curses if we choose not to follow Him. Note that there are 10 blessings (for following God), yet there are 40 curses (for walking away). To me, that means He is so concerned about our spiritual walk with Him that He’d send consequence after consequence after consequence, 40 times over, in order to redirect our paths. These consequences aren’t necessarily punishments, but responses from the Lord (due to our choices) that are meant to correct our path. The problem is, we hardly see our hardships as consequences for living apart from God. And the truth is, not all hardships are a result of choosing the world over God. There are some bad things that happen for the purpose of glorifying God (Job; the blind man in John 9). But what if some of the hardships are a result of our actions? Didn’t God warn us in this passage that if we choose life apart from Him these curses would come? Yes, but true to His word, God is the God of restoration, who sent His son, Jesus, to take on all those curses on our behalf when He died on the cross. We still have a choice of life or death. Choose life with Jesus today, and live in freedom.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we realize that some of the bad things that have happened to us are a result of our own choices of living apart from You and not following Your ways. But today, we choose You. Forgive us our sins and help us live fully under Your direction. Use the hardships for our good and Your glory. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
Action: Read Deuteronomy 28. We may not experience the curses listed in this passage in a physical way, but we could experience them in a spiritual way if we’re not living under the protection of Jesus. Talk to God about your life. Ask Him to show you any areas where you may not be following Him.
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