Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Deuteronomy 9:6 (ESV)
You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people. (NLT)
Recently, I was talking to a group of people and started telling a God story. A God story is a story where you get to see God move in your life or in someone else’s life. It’s where it was totally obvious it was him and no one else. I love God stories!
As I started to tell the story, I left out a part that pointed to God and his greatness. When I inadvertently did that, the story became more about how God did this for me. Which ever so slightly shifts the glory from who he is to who I am. Luckily, a friend in the group reminded me and I adjusted.
Now, I didn’t purposefully leave that part out. I always want to give God the glory. But, we are human and I wonder if sometimes we speak too quickly before we think of the ramifications of our words. Who are they pointing to? Who gets the credit? Who gets God’s glory?
I felt convicted after this and I’ve been talking to God about it. I don’t ever want to put myself on a pedestal. I want so much to always point to him. A few days later, I was driving and listening to my Bible app in my car and I heard today’s verse. God was very clearly telling the Israelites that their gift of the Promised Land was not because they were good, but because God was good.
We can definitely apply this to our lives. God still does work miracles. He still shows up. As I ponder this, I want to make sure that in everything I do, in all my words and actions, I am pointing to him. Because I am not good. He is.