Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
–Deuteronomy 8.11-18 (NIV)
In today’s passage we find another compelling reason to engage in the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, reading Scripture, self-denial, and confession/repentance. As the Lord reminds his people, Israel, through his prophet, Moses, we humans have the unfortunate tendency to make it all about ourselves.
For example, we all desire health, wealth, and prosperity, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, as Moses reminds us in today’s passage, when things are going our way, we tend to believe we are responsible for that happening. But that is delusional thinking.
No, all of our blessings come ultimately from God. Sure, we have to roll up our sleeves and do our part. We can’t, for example, wish for a better job and then sit at home twiddling our thumbs. We have to engage God in prayer about the kind of work he wants us to seek. Then we must go out and look for that new work and trust that God will help us find it according to his good will for us and in his good time for us.
This is what makes the season of Lent and its attendant disciplines so necessary for us because they tend to counteract our unfortunate tendency to make it all about us. The essence of human sin is that we tend to want to be God instead of submitting to the real God. The Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, reading Scripture, and self-denial remind us to make sure the God we are worshiping is the one true God, not something of our own concoction. Our Lenten disciplines help us, in part, to remember the mighty acts of God throughout the history of his people culminating in Jesus so that we can keep our eyes fixed squarely on him. And this is for our own good. Otherwise, we begin to delude ourselves and think we are actually ultimately responsible for the good things we have in life. “Not so,” says God. “If you want to know the Source of your blessings, you must keep your eyes fixed on me, not on yourself.”
If you are not already doing so, and if you really desire a living and vital relationship with God, then start taking time this Lenten season to transfer your focus to God and away from yourself. When you do, you will find that Jesus really did know what he was talking about when he spoke of finding life in losing yourself (Mark 8.35).
When you begin to focus consistently on God you will find a new depth, richness, and meaning to life that you’ve likely never experienced before because now you are tapping into the strength, wisdom, and power of your Creator and the Source and Author of all life. It is the very strength, wisdom, and power of Jesus, and him crucified. And in him you will discover mercy, grace, and forgiveness that will last you not only for a lifetime but for all eternity.