Today, part of my devotions took me to Deuteronomy chapter 8. The entire chapter is a call to the children of Israel to remember the Lord their God. Not because they’re prone to forgetfulness (although history proves they are), nor because God was going on a trip to a faraway land and wouldn’t be around (our Father is forever beside us). No, it was a memorial, an understanding of why those forty years in the desert were necessary and what the consequences of forgetting and repeating the same mistakes would be.

Moses charges them to remember that their clothing never wore out, their feet did not swell, and when they were hungry, God provided them manna, which literally fell from heaven. All so they would understand that He could meet every single need they had. As I read this chapter, I thought to myself, forty years is a long time to learn one simple lesson. The truth is, in our humanness, we often want to rush the lessons, learn things quickly, so we can get to our promised land faster. But God doesn’t skimp on time, because the lessons are necessary, the waiting, the hurting, the pain, and the discomfort are all necessary. Why? So we don’t believe the lie of pride. So that when we enter our promised land, we know it wasn’t due to our own strength but to God’s.

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth'”(Deuteronomy 8:17)

Don’t try to hurry the lessons, friends, let God have His perfect will in your life, “that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” (Deuteronomy 8:16)

So, what am I thankful for today? All the lessons.