guarantees

People say there are no guarantees in life. Seemingly secure jobs can be lost. Cars break down. Every fund in my 401(k) disclaims, “Past history is not an indicator of future performance.”

There is one guarantee - Moses pointed it out to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 1:29-33 “‘Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.

‘In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God . . . .’”

I need Moses’ words as much as Israel did. I need to remember that with God, past history is an unfailing indicator of future performance, because God doesn’t change. I need to look at what he has done, not just in the amazing Bible stories but in my life too. 

My good, faithful and loving God is my guarantee for retirement, for bad medical test results, for broken relationships, for uncertain economies and slow business years. Whatever I face walking with God, I will defeat. How do I know? Because when I look back at the things that scared me in my life, I see the truth of what Moses said. God did carry me, as a father carries his son, all the way until I got to where I am.

It makes me mad at myself for all the days I lived without giving God a thought. For all the things I tackled in my own strength. For the nights I worried about things God already had a plan for. 

I hope, in the end, that one thing Moses told the Israelites won’t be my story too: that despite God’s constant providence, they didn’t trust him. God is the only one I can truly trust.