THE FIRST STEP

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

365 DEVOTIONS FROM OUR DAILY BREAD

THE FIRST STEP

READ:  Deuteronomy 2:16-25

I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you.

Begin to possess it.  Deuteronomy 2:31

There are many ways to handle an overwhelming task.  We may keep putting it off, hoping that God will miraculously take care of it.  Or we can take the first step in the right direction.

After forty years in the wilderness, Moses was told that it was time for the people to take possession of the land God had promised them.  The first order of business was to decide what to do about a king named Sihon who stood between the Israelites and the land of Canaan.  God’s command was, “Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle” (Deuteronomy 2:24).  God certainly could have eliminated Sihon without anyone’s help, but He commanded His people to take the first step.

The same is often true with us. Difficult circumstances or broken relationships seem to defy solution.  When they persist for months or years, we may feel that nothing we do will make a difference.  But the Lord says, “Begin.”  We must make the first move-speak a kind word, ask forgiveness, pay some of what we owe.  We must be the initiators.

Joy lies not only in attaining some distant goal but also in walking with our loving God, who says, “I Have begun to give…Begin to possess it” (v.31).

Is there a first step you should take today?   DCM

Nothing can be accomplished until we take the first step.