Stress Test Devotional May 18
May 18, 2024
DEUTERONOMY 6:11 |11 Houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill.
Canaan was better than Egypt! There was work but not slavery. There was the dignity of freedom and self-determination. There was agricultural development that empowered civilized life in cities that did not require grinding, repetitive, soul-destroying labor, like endless brick making.
Canaan was better than the wilderness. The land of Canaan was fertile and fruitful: “flowing with milk and honey.” Diets were more varied than quail and manna, there were wells for water, and also a higher degree of protection in fortified cities. Homes were better than tents!
But Canaan was not heaven. Not even close! Neither is the greatest home in the best location in the strongest nation on the planet.
Do you ever mistake life now for heaven?
Gracious God,
We thank You for experiences now of love, beauty, truth, and joy. Remind us that the best is yet to come.
Amen.
