Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
What a great passage! The context adds so much more depth and richness to this verse. The context is, we know, the story of Israel crossing the Red Sea. This is an amazing miracle. God led them with a pillar of fire at night, a cloud of smoke during the day. I mean, can you imagine experiencing these supernatural occurrences? That's what Israel was able to witness.
Israel and the Golden Calf
All of these things happen, and then they cross the Red Sea. I’m fast forwarding through some of it, but Moses goes up into the mountain to receive the commandments of the Lord. He's up there 40 days in total. But all of a sudden, Israel becomes impatient and they get all their gold together and make this golden calf to bow and worship, because that's what they were used to, what they were surrounded by in Egypt.
They literally said, "This is the god that freed you out of Egypt. Bow to it and worship it." Now, I don't know if you're this way, but there are different times, especially with Israel, and especially in this context, it's like if I saw the Red Sea part and walked across it on dry ground, and if I saw a pillar of fire and saw all these supernatural things going on, I don't think I would make a golden image and bow to it and give it credit for doing all those things.
I struggle with this, and find myself thinking, Israel, really? For real? But let's just put a lens on it of reality in our own lives.
Do We Give God Credit?
How many times does God do things in our day and we don't give Him credit for it? We just look over it. He is constantly at work in our life. I love what James chapter 1 says: "So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father."
Every single good and perfect gift comes down from our Father in heaven. Everything good in your day. Imagine as they crafted a golden image and said, this is actually what did these things in your life. And we say, how in the world would they do that? I wonder how many times—and this has been very convicting for me—because we go through our day, and good things happen and we just completely overlook thanking God for all of the amazing things that He's done in our lives.
The Greatest Miracle
That's why this Verse of the Day, "He alone is your God, the only One who is worthy of your praise, the One who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes." Some of you may be thinking, man, I would have loved to see the parting of the Red Sea, but do you understand?
You and I have experienced the greatest miracle that has ever existed, and it's the coming of a baby to be sacrificed for our sin, to give us an ability to be reconciled to the Father. There is no greater miracle than that, and we get to experience it. Not only experience that, we get to live in it every single day.
Living in Gratitude
I would just encourage you, as we tend to just breeze through our day and as good things happen—do we actually recognize it as God's presence in our life, doing good in our life? Or do we give credit here and credit there, and credit to ourselves for all the good things that are happening, and we just give all the bad things in life, that credit to God?
I wish we could take more time to really turn our attention to God when anything good happens and say, Lord, thank you for being at work in my life, and live into the greatest miracle that anyone has ever been able to witness with their own eyes. That's the miracle of Jesus' love for you and His redemption power in our lives to reconcile us to our God, our Father.
We can experience that miracle every single day. May you live in that today and rejoice in what He's doing—the good things in your life today.