63. Take inventory of your life

After receiving God's laws and decrees the Israelites were ready to move on and conquer their Promised Land. They have been camping at Mount Sinai for quite some time and I am certain that they were eager to get moving. But first God instructed them to take a census.

'Take a census of the whole community of Israel by their clans and families. List the names of all the men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron are to direct the project, assisted by one family leader from each tribe.' Leviticus 1:2 - 4

Now as you might imagine, a census was a tedious and long process and I can just visualize that it was the last thing that most Israelites wanted at this point. They most probably wanted to get going and to settle in their new beautiful land. They were tired of camping out in the desert. But the census was necessary. It was necessary to do because they had to assess Israel's military strength before engaging in battle, but more than that they needed to determine the sizes of the different tribes in order to be able to divide the land fairly amongst them. This information was needed to organize the Promised Land amongst the tribes.

Now of course God knew how many they were and He could have divided the land between them and helped to organize the land, but sometimes He wants us to participate and do our part as well, like the Israelites had to do here. Now after the census they also knew the numbers of their tribes and shouldn't later feel that they have been allocated the smallest portion of the land even though they were the smallest tribe. It also gave them a sense of dignity and participation in the process.

Sometimes when we reach cross roads in our lives, we should first consult God and ask Him what His will is and then we need to take inventory of our lives just like the census of old. For example sit calmly and write down what is going on in your life, what is your present position concerning your family, how healthy is your spiritual life, are you making enough time for what is truly important, what is your strong points that God can use etcetera. Sit down and realize where you are at the moment and look up to God to see where He wants you to be. Ask Him for guidance and ask Him how you can use what you have to His glory. And also ask Him where you need to change. Obvious things would be to improve your spiritual life and to spend more time with Him, but when it comes to the less obvious things like which job to choose, spend some time on your knees praying and ask Him to help you and lead you to your Promised Land. When we do our part, God does His.

Father only You know what is best for us. Help us and guide us with Your Holy Spirit to see clearly what You want us to do and what Your perfect plan for our lives is. We hand our lives over to You. Amen

2 comments for “63. Take inventory of your life”

  1. Gravatar of RonelleRonelle
    Posted Friday, 16 August 2013 at 7:55:14 AM

    Sometimes God will also give us greater demands than we can meet in our own power - that's how He gains glory through us. If we step out in faith, He WILL provide.

  2. Gravatar of HenriHenri
    Posted Friday, 16 August 2013 at 8:58:40 AM

    We always need to remember that we are there for God's purposes and not God for our purposes.Make sure that whatever you do are within God's will/plan for your life by staying close to Him.

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