When things are going well, that’s when we are in the most danger of tripping up.
There’s a part of Deuteronomy that’s easy to skip past.
It’s not about struggle or hardship. It’s about what happens when things go right.
In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is warning the Israelites before they cross into the promised land. They are going to get there, without him, and everything will be working the way it should. Crops growing, buildings already there from the prior inhabitants, everything they need already provided.
And he says, in plain terms, when things are going well, you’re going to think you did it.
“My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.”
This is when we are in the most danger. Not when things are falling apart, but when they’re working.
We all remember to pray when something is wrong. When we’re worried, when something breaks, or when someone we love is in trouble, you don’t have to remind yourself. We start asking God to fix it. Yesterday, if possible.
A few years ago I was in one of those stretches. I needed help and was asking for it.
Then an opportunity came along and everything lined up. Timing, people, outcome. One of those deals where it just works.
I had basically been asking for a miracle, and then something happened I wasn’t expecting. It wasn’t exactly what I was asking for, but it sure came in handy.
Next thing I know I was telling myself, “Man, I did a great job on that.”
Not really funny, but I had to laugh at myself.
It’s easy to see dependence when you need something. It’s harder to see it when you just got it. That’s the warning.
If you read during the week here, you’ll see I still get close to it sometimes. Like when I talk about how I operate in a way that makes it more likely that things line up.
And that’s true. I am consciously doing things that put me in the path of what we like to call luck.
But if I’m not careful, I can forget why it really happens.
There’s nothing wrong with things going well. There is something wrong with rewriting the story after the fact, forgetting where it came from, how much of it was outside your control, and how quickly things can change.
Lucky for us, God knows what we’re made of and that we go off course all the time. I think, or at least hope, He laughs sometimes too.
Most people don’t forget on purpose. They adjust the story a little at a time until they’re the hero of it.
Deuteronomy calls that out before it even happens.
If things are going well right now, that’s a good thing.
Just don’t let your memory get selective.
P.S. If you’d like to read through the Bible with us this year, you can join at His Word Together.
No commentary, no telling you what to think.
Nothing to pay for, nothing to buy.
Nothing fancy. Just steady time in the Word.
