Deuteronomy 7:22
“The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.”
When I was new in the faith, a friend of mine erroneously said, “We can mature as fast as we want to”. While there is a hint of truth there, growth comes slowly. We can learn from nature. A tree takes many years to grow large. We can’t force it by our will.
There are several types of growth. Character is one. However, that’s not today’s topic. I want to focus on self control. The above verse is an interesting analogy about gaining victory over struggles in our lives.
God could have extinguished the inhabitants of the land immediately. However, it took time. He had a reason. Other things would have become issues. Because the land was occupied, it was managed and maintained. If they were gone, it would have become a dangerous wilderness.
What are areas of our lives that give us grief that we would like to have under control? It’s different for everyone, however there are many common areas. Galatians 5:19-21 has this list: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
When we come to Christ some of these struggles are gone immediately. Others take time and even others seem to plague us our entire lives. Today’s verse gave a reason. There are reasons why our lives aren’t instantly managable. We rarely will know what that is.
Lord, thank You for helping us clean up our lives.