Until God rescued the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, they had few life options and lived at the fickle will of their owners, so they were novices in making choices of any kind, including faith and trust. Although these slaves had dreamt about freedom, the reality in the desert failed to match their expectation. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, totally dependent on God for survival, a faithless generation died out, and their children continued learning “how-to-choose” lessons in faith and obedience. As they prepared to enter the Promised Land, God told them that they would still have to depend on God for survival (Deuteronomy 11:10-12).

The Promised Land had experienced unreliable weather patterns, drought, and famine throughout its history. God reminded the Israelites of this as well as His promises to care for them and for the land. Then He added a warning, “Remember the law of truth or consequences” (Deuteronomy 11:13-17).

The Promised Land was a testing ground of faith for the Israelites, bother personally and nationally. As believers, we, too, live in a land designed to nurture faith–our world is in chaos, but God is in control.

Faith can seem unreachable in this hopeless modern-day wilderness, and the devil constantly plays the “no-confidence” card that tells us: “Grow up! Nobody’s going to save you! If you want anything, you have to go after it yourself.”

Grow up? The world equates maturity to that time we reach the ability to live on our own and are free from parental control or the need of assistance. Our young people can’t wait for indiviual freedom and a driver’s license. But is this God’s definition of maturity?

Spiritual maturity is the opposite of self-dependence.
True faith is the recognition of our total dependence on God
that frees us from trying to make things happen in our own strength.

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
Deuteronomy 30:10, NLT

To travel to and live in the Promised Land,
the Hebrew ex-slaves had to choose to follow God as a daily habit,
to believe that what God promises, God delivers.
We are on the same journey.

The content for this blog is taken from Strike the Match, Light the Fire by Kathleen Evenhouse. It is available for sale at http://www.kathleensevenhouse.com/bookstore
You can also purchase it or order it at your local book store: ISBN #978-1-7375-955-0-2