“And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, 'I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us’” (Deuteronomy 26:3).
How often do you think of the many blessings God has already given you? Do you spend much of your time in prayer thanking God for all He has already done for you or is most of your prayer time spent with petitioning God to help with concerns you have or asking Him for things you have not yet been given. Why is it important to reflect upon the fulfilled promises God has already given to us?
When the Israelites came into the Promised Land, God gave them a command that would help them to reflect upon the promises He had already fulfilled for them: “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide” (Deuteronomy 26:1-2). The Israelites were to take in a basket some of the first produce of the land which grew from their individual land inheritances they had received, and bring that to the priest. As the opening verse above indicates, they were then to say to the priest: “'I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us” (Deuteronomy 26:3).
The priest would then set the basket of produce before the altar of the Lord and the individual Israelite would then recount the history of His people from the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to their deliverance from Egypt, and finally, to their entrance into this land “flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:4-9). The basket of first-fruits they had brought was a symbol that they recognized God had fulfilled His promises to them and they were rejoicing in this fact (Deuteronomy 28:10-11).
They were to take time to recognize the promises that God had fulfilled to them. God was so wise to have His people do this. God understood that it was essential for His people to take time to reflect how He had blessed them and fulfilled the promises He made to them. This would encourage them to grow in their faith in Him and encourage them to remain faithful to Him.
As Christians, sometimes we can get wrapped up so much in the affairs of daily life that we fail to take time to reflect on God’s fulfilled promises to us and how He has blessed us. When this happens, our Christianity becomes nothing more than a set of rules we follow. Our relationship with God suffers and we feel ourselves becoming distant from Him as the joy slowly slips out of our lives and we find ourselves grumbling as we try to serve Him.
Do I take time to reflect on how God has blessed me, answered my prayers, and fulfilled the promises He has made to me? God has saved me from the lost sinner I was through the promise of salvation He kept through the centuries which He fulfilled through Jesus Christ. God has blessed me by sustaining me through this point of my life and seen me through various trials. God has fulfilled numerous prayers which I have made to Him. Today, I will take time to let His joy fill my life as I rejoice in how God has fulfilled His promises to me!
“When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore, in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice” (Psalm 63:6-7).