Deuteronomy 32:3-4 I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.

This passage is striking for several reasons. First, it is the testimony of Moses at the end of his life, after all he has gone through. If we look at his life, that speaks volumes. I’m reminded of the song, “The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows.” Actually, any older person who has spent their life trying to serve God is going to have this testimony, unless they have been totally deceived by something along the way. The second thing that strikes me is much more evident in the Japanese translation than it is in the NIV. In Japanese, verse 3 reads, “I’m going to proclaim the name of the Lord, so give glory to our God.” The phrase, “give glory to God,” has various nuances throughout the Old Testament, but most often it just means, “praise Him.” Moses is saying that the simple act of proclaiming the name of Yahweh should be enough to make His people praise Him. We could use more of that attitude in churches today! The third thing that strikes me is that this is describing God’s perfect righteousness, and Paul tells us that in Christ, we have been made to be the righteousness of God. (1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21) That is to say, when we are genuinely walking in Christ, abiding in Him and fellowshipping with His Spirit, this is a description of us! That makes it clear how high the standard is, and eliminates all grounds for complacency. This is our goal in this life, serving Him this perfectly. We need first of all to believe that God indeed can do it, even in us, and then we need to give Him permission, and cooperate fully, for Him to accomplish it for His glory.

I have understood this for quite a few years now, but my grasp of it continues to grow. “The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows” is certainly true for me! I am not to be condemning of failures, my own or anyone else’, but neither am I to stop short of the goal and say, this is far enough. That means continuing to move forward the rest of my life! I recognize things in myself all the time that aren’t to this standard yet, and my repentance must be kept up to date. The whole purpose of life on earth is to prepare us for heaven and draw others to do likewise, so I must never back off, but keep pressing in for more of what God has provided and prepared for me in Christ Jesus my Lord.

Father, the past few days have been quite an intense training period, and the schedule looks to continue to be hectic. Help me keep my eyes on Christ, to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, so that Your Spirit may carry me along and flow through me, to the blessing of those around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!