08
Fat & Sassy
John TiltonDeuteronomy 8:10-14
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Such a profound reminder to the Israelites that they would not let themselves get “fat and sassy” subsequent to God faithfully guiding and blessing them with sustenance, provision, protection and victory. Furthermore, that they would continue to observe His commands, laws and decrees; mindful of the propensity of man’s heart to become proud and complacent when in this case they would have been blessed with fine houses, when their herds and flocks were enlarged and their gold and silver was multiplied. Basically, the blessings and provisions of the Lord would have the potential to result in their forgetting the Lord and the fact that He had delivered them from slavery.
Isn’t that a tendency in our lives? I know that it has definitely transpired in mine. When I am in a dire situation, I sincerely, repentantly and heartfully turn to the Lord in prayer and supplication. However, when the Lord in turn is faithful and blesses me with answered prayer, I at times will forget what He has done for me and find myself once again consumed with the tasks and things of life and the world. Why is it that our fervor for the Lord often resides after we have received what we so desired and beseeched the Lord for?
I often find myself doing the same thing daily based on my needs and desires versus counting my blessings and therefore being more fervent in my time with the Lord in gratefulness. In retrospect, it almost seems like a metaphor of a genie in a lamp that I/we call on the Lord and rub that lamp when in need, being obedient and heartelt. Then, we turn back to our old ways of self, pride and complacency, or being “fat & sassy.” Pretty revealing and shameful, honestly. This has to change.
Thank you Lord for the reminder of what my devotion, time, obedience and relationship should be with you, out of my love for you because you love me infinitely, rather then my needs in times of desolation.
