Deuteronomy 5:29 “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”

Various places in the Bible indicate God’s gracious desires for His people, but I don’t know of any place that is more clear than this. God desires good for us! English translations generally say, “go well with them,” but the Japanese uses a term that means “happy, blessed.” God desires good for us, but that is conditional on our maintaining a right relationship with Him, and that applies to society as a whole as well as individuals. Often, the trials we endure come from other people not fearing God, quite apart from the times we personally rebel against Him. The genetic damage that triggers cancer, for example, generally originates in the past centuries of human sin – though you won’t find a medical textbook that says that. Many books have been written about why bad things happen to good people, but I just think that’s how life is on this planet. After all, Jesus said clearly, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) The way to minimize that and to come out on top when it does happen is to do what it says here: fear God and do what He says. We have a lot of trouble with the idea of “fearing” God, because we focus so much on His love and grace. That focus isn’t bad as such, but we need to remember that God is the perfect Father, and as the Bible says repeatedly, a good father disciplines his children. Hebrews 12 goes into some length on this subject. Today, with absent fathers and stupid ideas like “gentle parenting,” far too many people grow up physically without growing up emotionally, not having been properly disciplined by their fathers. That more than anything else, I think, is responsible for the decline in church attendance, ethics, and morality that is so evident in society. For good or evil, our image of God is greatly influenced by our fathers. We have a hard time understanding His love for us if we haven’t experienced a similar love from our fathers.

I had exemplary parents, I think, but they weren’t perfect. However, I never doubted that they loved me, and that God loved me. I knew that I disappointed them sometimes, and I disappointed God, too. (If you can actually say that, when He knows all of history at a glance.) I have understood that the way to blessed happiness was rightly relating to God, but that doesn’t mean I’ve always done things right. At least, I have no trouble at all recommending faith, a right relationship with our Creator, to everyone I encounter. I want everyone to know the Heavenly Father I know, to know that He is perfectly holy, but He loved us so much He sent His Son to die, taking the penalty for our sins so that we could come into fellowship with Him for eternity. That is the ultimate expression of what He expressed here to Moses. I feel incredibly blessed, and I want everyone to share that blessing.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your good desires and intentions toward us. Use me to communicate Your heart to as many people as will repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!