Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Today's verse is Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 39. And every time we open the Scriptures, we want to be asking God to show us what He wants us to see in the time that we're taking to study. As you're reading this scripture, I want you to be aware of what is flowing through your mind. Maybe God is placing something more directly in your view to see for your journey today.
The verse says, "So remember this and keep it firmly in mind. The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other." I love this verse because it summarizes the whole idea of what it means for us to be on a journey with Jesus right now, as we are living, no matter what season we find ourselves in, whether young or old. This verse summarizes the important view that we should have as we take steps in life to remember that God is God of both heaven and earth.
More Than Just Future Hope
Now, what's interesting about this is many of us think about the importance of knowing God in terms of what it means for later on after we die. It kind of comes down to heaven and hell and blessings for the future into eternity.
And obviously it's a really important idea to consider. But if we're not careful, we can only think of God in the distant future as someone who is separated from the implications of what are going on in our daily rhythms, and that would be one of the greatest mistakes we could make. We obviously want to know that God, who is in the heavens above all things, has sovereignty and the ability to see what is true about our lives here on earth.
And that matters for what our lives look like when we're no longer walking the earth. But if we don't remember that communion with God on earth can change the way that we live right now, we'll miss a great aspect of the heart of God for our lives.
God's Heart for Connection
He created us to be in communion with Him. Think all the way back to the beginning of the story of the Bible, when you saw how God was walking with Adam in the cool of the day. This was His heart for humanity, that they would be connected to Him. And that has never changed. Sin entered into the picture and it disrupted the rhythm that we had in our walking with God as humans. But ever since that time, we've been longing for reconnection again.
I think about how Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 talks about this idea that we should be praying about as followers of Him, that we should pray that we would experience the kingdom on earth just like it's in heaven. In other words, our connectedness to God informing the way that we live while we're still here, this opportunity to be filled and fueled by the things that God provides for us alone.
Present With You Today
This is something that we can carry into our day today. Instead of us only thinking of God as someone who's far off, that we're throwing prayers up to, hoping that those prayers make it, know that this God of the universe who created you wants to commune with you today in real and profound ways. He wants to be with you in the middle of suffering.
He wants to walk with you as you celebrate the good things in life. He wants to be alongside the journey, not just in a far off future, not just disconnected up in the heavens, but even right now, here on earth.
