Doing Things God’s Way: The Pathway to His Goodness

Day 267 of Bible Reading Plan – It’s easy to try and do things our way. It’s what we want or what we think is best. It can feel confining to have to do something someone else’s way. But doing things God’s way is the pathway to blessing. Whereas doing things our way ends up making things more difficult on us.

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SEEING DEEP

with Denise Pass

BIBLE READING PLAN

 

Doing Things God's Way

Doing Things God’s Way

It’s easy to try and do things our way. It’s what we want or what we think is best. It can feel confining to have to do something someone else’s way. But doing things God’s way is the pathway to blessing. Whereas doing things our way ends up making things more difficult on us.

 

Bible Reading of the Day: Numbers 33-36

We are finishing the book of Numbers today, y’all, and what a journey it has been. Today’s reading has a summary of the Israelite’s various travels, instructions for occupying Canaan, boundaries of the promised land, and distribution of the land by tribe.

More than just a list of places they traveled through, each place held memories of God’s faithfulness that met them there – when they sinned and when they encountered difficulties, God was there.

 

Doing Things God’s Way—God With Us

There’s a song out now called, “There Was Jesus”, and I think we can hear this song or hear the truth that God is with us, but we do not realize the significance of that statement and reality. Journeying with Jesus is not pain-free. But the difference between going with God, as you hear me say each day, and not, is vast.

More than just trying to get to their destination, Israel was God’s people and God wanted to do life with them. When they strayed, God brought them back. And sometimes punishment was meted out.

 

Doing Things God’s Way—God Has Good Purposes

But in the grand scheme, the story of the traveling from Egypt to the promised land was about what a relationship with God looks like. We can be disobedient and do things our way and suffer for it, or we can see the fruit from walking with God – going with God and doing things God’s way. It’s our choice.

God longs to provide for His people. He longs to protect them. So why wouldn’t we go with God and do things His way?

 

Doing Things God’s Way—Trusting His Plan

Trust. We don’t trust His plans. We rely on our own understanding. Simply, we don’t have a strong relationship with the One Who made us. Let that sink in. When devotions and reading the Bible seem dry to us, we need to drop to our knees and ask God to help us and to draw near to Him.

 

Doing Things God’s Way—Laying Down Our Plans

Idolatry. God’s people slipped into idolatry and spiritual adultery time and again. So can we. This is why God had very specific rules and instructions for His people. He knew the heart of man.

Stubborn. Simply want to do things our own way. Man wants to govern himself but does a lousy job of it.

 

Doing Things God’s Way—Trusting God’s Goodness

Fear. Maybe afraid that the journey will be hard and maybe God will allow in what we don’t want or don’t think we can handle.

We don’t know God and His goodness. If we understood God’s heart and why He commanded what He did, we would not stray so easily.

Let’s look at God’s instructions and the why behind it.

“50 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, 51 “Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places. 53 You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land to possess. 54 You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. 55 But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. 56 And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”

 

Doing Things God’s Way—Go With God!

At first blush, it seems kind of harsh destroying things and booting people out of the land. But belongings and people can be a snare to us and lead us away from a relationship with God.

How does this relate to us today?

What influences do you have in your home right now that are a stumbling block to you, or can be? Sometimes we want to tame the bad influences and don’t want to eradicate them. Sometimes boundaries and accountability help. But ultimately, we can be deceived if we don’t get rid of things that hurt our devotion to God.

I have apps on my youngest son’s phone and computer, but that isn’t enough. Y’all, we are being influenced every moment of every day. I also tell my son that his phone can stay out with us and not go to his room with him. And we have a code for our TV that restricts content.

 

Doing Things God’s Way—We Belong to Jesus

I don’t want to lead a life apart from the One Who made me. I belong to Jesus. So everything in this journey I want to walk with God. I don’t want to waste time serving idols.

At the end of our reading today, God demonstrates His care for women, specifically women with no inheritance.

The daughters of Zelophehad did not escape God’s notice and care and neither will we. Is there fear that God will allow pain or hardship in our journey that seems too hard for us?

Doing things God’s way is the safest place to be friends. Don’t listen to the liar who tries to use fear, doubt, and idolatry to sway and move us away from God—that would be the scariest place of all.

 

Scripture of the Day: Numbers 33:4

“Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the LORD had killed the night before. The LORD had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment!”

God wants to be our hero. He wants to lead us through this life and defeat our enemies. Just as God exacted judgment on the fake gods back then, He will do the same in our life. He is a jealous God because He loves us and knows the wreckage that sin leaves behind. It destroys us.

Go with God, friends. The journey in this life is meaningful because of Him.

 

Application

  • As we look back over our lives, it will be the times that we were doing things God’s way where life had the most meaning and the biggest blessing.
  • We get confused by the drama of life, but when we center our lives around Christ, life makes sense.

7-Fold One-Year Bible Reading Plan

Day #236: Numbers 33-36

Scripture of the Day: Numbers 33:4

Listen: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Num.33

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The post Doing Things God’s Way—September 23 Bible Reading Plan appeared first on Denise Pass.

 


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I write books, music, podcasts and blogs, speak and lead worship to help people to overcome the battles of the mind with the word of God and to see past the surface of this life by diving deep into the word of God.