Job 42:2 says, “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.” God had planned to have Moses lead the children of Israel into the promised land. Moses forfeited his part, but God continued in His part. 

Think of our nation. The foundation for this great nation was laid through His divine orchestration. All through history man has sought to overthrow what God has begun. God’s plan will continue, because no man can thwart it.

Acts 17:26 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” We are living where He wants us to in this time of history.

Philippians 1:6 is a great promise for us. It says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” When He formed Adam out of the dust of the ground, Adam was a fully functioning man. 

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” I believe that when each of us was conceived, He set every nuance of our lives into that seed. All things are known by Him, and He orchestrates every detail of our lives. Our progressive sanctification started the moment we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior. 

Moses spent time in the Lord’s Presence. Exodus 33:7 says that Moses made his dwelling place a place where he met with the Lord away from the camp. You can read verse 11 for yourself.

God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend. No wonder verse 15 says, “…If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Do you remember when the Lord revealed Himself to Moses in the cleft of the rock? I encourage you to read verses 19-23.

What about the times that Moses got angry? Anger is often rooted in pent up emotions. In anger Moses threw down the stone tablets when he saw that Aaron had fashioned a gold calf. Exodus 32:1-4. Moses exploded in anger when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it. He forfeited his privilege of entering into the promised land. Numbers 20:8-12.

We live in troubled times. Yet, we do not have to allow the stresses of our day to negatively affect our health. Many diseases have spiritual roots. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says that what the Lord has called us to do, He will do it through us.

Here is a verse that I would like you to consider. I have turned it into one of my daily prayers. Proverbs 3:2 in the Amplified says, “For length of days and years of a life (worth living) and tranquility (inward and outward and continuing through old age till death), these shall they add to you.” Let us live out our days so that our thoughts, purpose, and actions glorify the Lord.

Each time I finish reading Exodus through Deuteronomy, I give pause to the end of Moses’ life. I reflect on the fact that he lived in constant stress. Think about how he led the children of Israel when they were rebelling against his authority. He heard their murmurs and complaints. 

The last chapter of Deuteronomy is a brilliant display of God’s man who served him with quality of life to his last breath. In Deuteronomy 34:1-4 the Lord showed Moses what he had forfeited through his disobedience. 

Verse 5 leaves me breathless. It says, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.” It was the Lord who buried him. Read verse 7 carefully. Visually see in your mind the quality of his life. It says, “Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.”

How did Moses’ body not break down through all the stresses? In our day, many diseases are rooted in unmanaged stress. I want to take you back to God’s gallery to capture some pictures of Moses’ and the Lord’s relationship.

If you remember, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses’ leadership. In Numbers 12:2 it says that the Lord heard it. Then He called the three of them into the tent of meetings. It would be equivalent to an old saying of being taken out to the woodshed. He highlighted His relationship in 8. It says, “…I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings…”

1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

The Gospel was clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. It says, “…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 

Colossians 2:15 says of the cross, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Jesus created them in order to display His power to them.

Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Verse 17 says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” In these two verses alone the word ‘all’ is used four times. All means no exception. Many in the world system speak of how we evolved. 

We can quickly refute that demonic ideology through Scripture. Let me just jot down a few references. Genesis 1:26. Genesis 2:7. Jeremiah 1:5. Psalm 119:73. Psalm 139:13-16.

Reviewing how He made everything for His use. Ephesians 3:10 is a God orchestrated dynamic reason. It says, “To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Folks, we are on display for His glory!

Paul told the Corinthians that he didn’t come to them with persuasive words. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 was the reason. It says, “…but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Every born again believer has that power. Ephesians 1:19-20 says that it is the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead ~ within us! Verse 19 says, “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.”

Ephesians 3:20 was an expression of His resurrection power at work in us. It says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Note that He is doing a hidden work through His ability ~ certainly not ours.

I like to think about the word ‘work’ as illustrated in wheel pottery. The potter has to work water into the dry clay before it can be molded into the desired vessel. So the Holy Spirit works God’s word into the fabric of our being, to help us bear His image before others. 

Isaiah 32:17 expressed it another way. It says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” Righteousness, according to Hebrews 12:11 Amplified is, “…in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God).”

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book called “How Should We Then Live?” I often ask myself that question when the Holy Spirit fingers a verse and causes me to ponder it. How do I live this out? What is my practical application?

Living out the Gospel helps us conform our thoughts, purpose, and actions to God’s will and ways. We died with Him, and were raised up into newness of life. Romans 6:12 says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you would obey it in its lusts.” Walking in righteousness is His way for us to emulate His character. 

Consider the Gospel as His sculptor’s chisel and hammer. Each verse we take into our heart, chips away the debris that hides what He has designed us to be. The debris are the sinful patterns we lived in without any thought of God. Salvation sets us free, but it will take His experiential truth to keep us free. Read John 8:31-32.

Nothing from our past’s thought patterns changed the moment we were saved. That is why we are instructed in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The J. B. Phillips says, “…but let God re-mould your minds from within…” Ephesians 4:23 Amplified says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).”

Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s word penetrates, and discerns our thoughts and intentions. As we read His word, observing how to apply it in our lives, old patterns of thoughts are exposed. At that point we have a choice. We can ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, or we can stop and consider what He has fingered.

Strongholds oppose God’s ways and will. Therefore they block our progress in spiritual maturity. Paul wrote about a condition for our progressive sanctification. Colossians 1:23 says, “IF you indeed continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…”

Verse 27 explained the mystery of our hope. It says, “…riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 3:3 says that our life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 says, “…the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, He made the way for us to have intimate communion with Him. Enemy planted strongholds are designed to hide lies that will control our life. Our spiritual growth depends on our abiding in Christ.

In my own life, I keep going back to visit John 15:1-8. It is an essential reminder for me, that apart from Christ I can do nothing. Not only that, fruit for His glory is borne as we abide. It comes from being and not doing.

A plant grows in soil. As vegetation around it decomposes, it creates nitrogen that feeds the roots. In that analogy, think of our strongholds. Their lies block the truth that our roots need in order to thrive. When we confess them as sin, renounce and tear them down, truth takes over and we flourish.

Thoughts undergird our obedience or disobedience. Here is a verse that denotes being fully satisfied. Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

Here is a passage that might cause us to pause before we choose to disobey. As I read Psalm 81:13-14, I hear the Lord’s heart of deep lament. It says, “Oh, that My people would listen to Me…I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.”

Their disobedience caused them to walk away empty from the promise in verse 16. It says, “He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

A certain man of Bethlehem, Judah took his wife and sons to Moab. You can read the narrative in Ruth 1. What was the result? Naomi’s words were spoken from a bitter heart. She blamed God for the consequences of walking away from His way. 

As you read her words, listen for her bitter lament. Ruth 1:21 says, “I went out full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

The path of disobedience is strewn with grief, hardship, loss, and utter soul emptiness. The path of obedience, on the other hand, is strewn with an abundance of grace, mercy, joy, and a spirit that is satiated through God’s word.

Yesterday I read Deuteronomy 28. I have no idea how many times I’ve read it over the years. However, this time I cried. It was so sad for me, knowing what was ahead for the children of Israel’s disobedience.

Verse 15 was spoken after all the blessings for obedience were spread out before them. It says, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

Reading the curses was like watching a horror movie. They had a choice to be fully satisfied through obedience, or to be emptied through their disobedience. We have the same choice moment by moment.

Joshua 1:8 says that as we read God’s word, we are to observe to do. The Hebrew for observe means to keep, guard, give heed, have charge of, keep watch, protect, retain, treasure up (in memory). 

We observe His words to us so that we can put them into practice. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” The Amplified says, “…live and practice the Truth (which the Gospel presents).”

John 3:21 Amplified says, “But he who practices truth (who does what is right) comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—wrought with God (divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him).”

I have a friend who used to break his food fast by eating a huge pizza. I would always cringe. Fasting empties ~ feasting fills. The title to this devotional came this morning as I was praying for wisdom for someone I was counseling.

The Holy Spirit was not talking about fasting from food, but rather fasting from certain thoughts. Conversely He was not talking about feasting on food, but rather on the word of God. When our thoughts are centered on negativity, rather than the Lord, then it is time to fast from them.

We fast from all defeating, negative, condemning, critical, judgmental (self and others) thoughts. Thoughts that increase our worry that cause anxiety, doubt, fear, and unbelief. We feast on God’s word that undergirds and strengthens our faith. We feast on verses that affirm who we are in Christ, and that warm our heart towards others. 

Another way we feast is through memorizing and meditating on His word. Our intention is to fill our heart reservoir so that we can easily turn them into prayers. The Lord loves to hear His word spoken back to Him. 

Let me give you one example from my own life. I love Psalm 63:8 in the Amplified. I allow the words from my reservoir to first embrace an expression of longing. “Lord, I am following hard after You. I’m clinging with refusal to let go.” May we all enter into this art of fasting to feast.