1) The Lord your God will carry you.

 V.4-5 4 Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

There are many things that God has done for us and if we recollect them, we will realise that God’s grace is sufficient for us. We may not realise while we are going through a tough patch how much God has done for us and how much grace God has given us.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

2) Remember the Lord your God and all that He has done for you.

V.12-14 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

V. 12 reminds me of Haggai 1:2-5 where the people were not rebuilding the temple but were dwelling in their panelled houses. As in Verse 14, let us ensure that our hearts do not become proud. Rather, let us build the temple of God, the kingdom of God in us, and build the Church. Let us nurture ourselves spiritually and encourage others to do the same, rather than just the materialistic things of the world like beautiful houses and panelled houses.

Haggai 1:2-5 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!

If we keep pushing back prioritising our spiritual nurture, we will never have the time to eventually do so. Instead, it is an every day choice and battle to constantly prioritise God in our lives.

It is not easy because we can be quite busy with school or work, but it is in moments like these where we trust that God will not short change us for putting Him first in our lives.

3) Tests we face will be for good reason and for our good.

V.16 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end—

Although we will face many challenges and tests in our life of faith, we will learn to humble ourselves and submit to God’s will through these. Our faith will be refined to become pure and genuine, to do ourselves good in the end, that we may become perfect.

4) The reason we can achieve great things is because we have a God who is great.

 V.17-18 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

We may attribute our achievements, wealth and success to ourselves, but it is God who gives us the power to get wealth, the opportunity to wake up to a new day, the time, the good health, and so much more. Hence, let us always remember to be humble.

While it is true that we are working hard too, let us thank God for giving us the opportunity to work hard because we are blessed enough to be born in a place where we can study and work, whereas these opportunities may be hard to come by for some.

•