Deuteronomy 1

(April 29, 2014)
It is hard for us to accept, at times, that our rebellion and unrighteousness may forever put certain opportunities out of our reach.  Seeing the children of Israel, I can imagine what it must have been like for them to realize that their opportunity to experience the promise land had been foreclosed to them and they were destined to spend the rest of their lives wandering in the desert.  I can imagine their prayers of hope and desperation, begging the Lord to reconsider and allow them rest and peace.  And yet, that was something that was not to be for them – whatever the eternal consequences of their behavior, the mortal consequences were to permanently end certain opportunities.

I am led to think about this while I deal with the mistakes that I have made over the course of my life.  I look at the future of my life, and I recognize that certain hopes and dreams may be forever out of my reach (I don’t know whether they are or not, but at times it feels painfully likely).  I struggle to deal with the hurt these losses create in me, and I have prayed to see the situation changed.  I suppose that I always held out hope that it would eventually change, but I see now that this may not be the case – the status quo might be the permanent status quo.  I am therefore in the position to align myself with the Lord as best as I can and to accept His will – even when His will is not what I would have done to and for me.