Deuteronomy 8:2-5(NKJV) 2And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 4Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.
Yesterday we began looking at Deuteronomy 8. In this chapter, Moses gives Israel some instruction on things that need to be in place before they could possess the Promised Land. I believe these same attitudes and principles apply to our ability to enter the promised land of blessing God has for his church.
The first key we discussed was the need to live according Godly principles. Moses told Israel they needed to be careful to keep God’s commandments. I believe we must also keep the commandments of the Lord if we are going to walk in divine prosperity. We are not under the detailed requirements of the Mosaic Law, but grace does not excuse us from living Godly lives. We cannot allow sin to reign in us if we want to experience God’s blessing in our finances.
In today’s verses, we see The Lord reminding Israel that they went through some trying times to get to Canaan. Through all of the trials they faced God took care of them. In these verses, God explains that there was a purpose for these times. Verse 4 tells us that God led them through the wilderness, “that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone.” God needed them to know how to trust him.
The language here implies that God needed to find out if they would keep His commandments under pressure. We know that God knows all things, so he knew how each generation would react. They had to know how they would react to pressure. It is not how we respond to good times that determine our faith in God’s provision. It is how we react in trying times that is truly important.
If we are going to walk in Divine prosperity, we are going to have to respond to trying times with two main ideas in place. First, trying times do not indicate that God does not love me. Second, trials must be viewed as an opportunity to trust God and see victory in the end. If we keep this attitude, we will build a foundation through the trial that the devil will never be able to defeat.
Let us look at the two Generations of Israel in the wilderness. The first generation reacted to trial the same way every time. They grumbled and complained against their leader. They would take no responsibility for their situation. It was always someone else’s fault. They constantly looked back instead of looking to the promised reward. The result was that the trial eventually robbed them of what God fully intended to give them.
I believe that we do the same thing far too often concerning divine prosperity. It is inevitable that most of us will find ourselves in some kind of trying time financially. How we react will either take us to our Canaan or it will keep us out. If we trust God in the midst of the trial, we will see God move to meet our needs. This will build confidence that when the next trial comes, God will do the same thing.
The second generation of Israelites also had trials. They endured many of the same things their parents did. However, we do not read about the complaining that the first generation was known for. We do not see them constantly assigning blame for their circumstances. There is no mention of the “leaks and garlic” of Egypt. They were children of Caleb and Joshua. They understood that God was taking them to a better place and they endured the trials knowing they would eventually get there.
Take a close look at where you are now. The chances are that you find yourself going through something difficult. Listen to your words in the midst of the trial. Is it always someone else’s fault? Is your boss the problem? Maybe your husband or wife is keeping you down. If you were in another church, state or job would that solve all your problems?
When asked what was wrong my mother used to say, “Everything in general and nothing in particular.” Is that how you feel? Life is just unfair. Nothing ever goes right for me. None of this will help your situation.
Do not fall into the next trap either. The devil will whisper in your ear, “You had it better before you were saved.” or “They don’t really care about you at that church.” For many, the devil will sow strife in the family to get either husband or wife to consider divorce as the solution to the problem. The game is to get you looking back. The devil will make sure you do not see how bad it was before.
What should we do in trial? God tells Israel. We must remember that God has gotten us through every trial we have experienced. God promises to “never leave you nor forsake you.” Remember how that has been true. He reminds Israel that as The Lord lead them through dry lands he also gave them water from a rock. When he led them into places with no natural food, he also provided manna so they never went hungry. They had nowhere to buy clothes so God made sure they did not need new clothes. The old ones never wore out.
If you take the time to think about it I guarantee there are things you can remember that God has done in your life. We sing a song titled “Look What the Lord has Done.” That song declares, “He healed my body, He touched my mind, He saved me and it was just in time.” You can sing that song about some time in your life if you take the time to remember.
Israel was constantly told to build alters in the Old Testament. There are two kinds of alters. There are those upon which Israel offered sacrifice to God. However, there are others meant as reminders of what the Lord had done in their lives. We need to visit some of our alters. This is especially true in trying times. Think about what God has done, not what he has not done. Be thankful for The Lord’s influence in your life. If he did it then he can do it now.
If we respond in trying times with faith in God, we will be able to see them as opportunities for God to give us victory again. We will rejoice, knowing that if God is for us no one can stand against us. Do not wait until you are out of the trial to thank God for the victory. Right in the midst of the worst of it begin to declare, “God is with me and nothing can separate me from his Love. I am going to the other side of this trial and when I get there I am going to have a testimony the devil will never recover from!”
It is hard for the devil to deal with that. He has no answer to it because he is already doing his worst but you are not responding. Jesus loves you. The Father is with you. Victory on the inside is the most important anyway. Nehemiah told his people, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” If I have God’s joy and peace within, no trial can defeat me.
Let us examine ourselves today. The second key to divine prosperity is to see trying times as opportunities for victory.
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