Deuteronomy 30 touched me deeply when I read it. It is a powerful passage in which Moses gave the Israelites final encouragement before he died. They had been wandering for forty years in the wilderness at this point, and I cannot imagine how tired and confused they must have been. It is at this time that Moses urged the people to return to their first love. He exhorted them by reminding them of the character of God, who is so loving and merciful. Moses declared the truth of sin and salvation; He told the Israelites that those who love God will live in the Promised Land and have life, but those who do not devote themselves to God will not enter the Promised Land and will perish. I can almost hear the urgent tone in Moses’s voice when he proclaimed, “Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!” Choosing God was the most important choice the Israelites would ever make. And it is the most important choice we will ever make, too.
God will never force us to choose Him. While God desperately longs for us to run to Him and stay with Him, He leaves the decision up to us. And while He waits, He prays for us (Romans 8:34). His love is so patient. He will stay by our side as we ask questions and express doubt or anger. He remains loyal when we are disloyal to Him, when we search for love in all the unfulfilling places of the world. God’s love is beyond any kind of human love we have ever experienced; it has no physical or emotional boundaries.
Friend, I want to ask you today, have you chosen God? Maybe you have never placed your faith in Him. Maybe you believe in Him but are currently running away from Him for one reason or another. I want you to know that He made you, and He wants you. The plan He has for you is one full of hope, unconditional love, and everlasting life. In the words of Jesus, there is a wide path to death, and many walk this path because it is easy and everyone else is doing it. But the path that leads to life is narrow and few choose to walk it (Matthew 7:13–14). Which path are you currently choosing? I loved how God gently assures us that what He asks us to do is not too hard for us. He has not left us alone and helpless, for He has given us His Word of life to guide us along every step of the journey.
God knows you are human, and He has deep compassion for you. The Israelites chose God, ran away, chose God, and ran away, and the cycle kept repeating. When He saved them, they rejoiced but then forgot Him soon after. Yet He continued to call them His people, no matter what, with loyal love. Friend, nothing you have done or could ever do will separate you from God’s love for you. You are unceasingly thought of, fought for, and deeply loved by God. When you repent, He is always ready to forgive. Psalm 103:11–12 says that His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth, and He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. It is never too late to choose the way of life and truth—to choose God over your desires and the world. He has given you everything you need to make this choice, and He will be with you every step of your life on this earth, until you get to be with Him face to face.
I want to leave you with the words of our beloved Jesus from John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” Jesus died the most painful death to save you from the power of sin and death. He defeated death so that you could live, having abundant life now and eternal life forever. Consider His sacrifice today. As you search to fill your God-given needs for love and worth in all of the places of the world, I hear Him beckoning to you personally, with so much love, saying,
My love!
Look into my face!
There is a better way…
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