Deuteronomy 12-15: God reminded Israel in today’s reading that they are not to be like the people they are about to conquer. The people they were going to conquer trusted in false gods. Their gods could not save them, so why turn to them? They worshiped in ways that did not honor God and would even go so far as to give their children to their gods through the fire. God wanted His people to be distinctively different. Israel had a real God. They had no need for other gods.

How does that affect our lives? We too serve God, the same God that Israel worshiped. When God tells us He is sufficient for all of our needs we can live in that truth. We have no need to have to be the one in control. For those of us who struggle with anxiety we can rest in knowing that the Creator of the Universe is working on our behalf providing our every need. We also can rest in the fact that He is our defender. We need not fear for He is with us and fights for us. For those who struggle with physical health, He is our healer. That does not mean we will be healed of every disease. Sometimes God has a purpose for the sicknesses in our lives because it draws us closer to Him, but we can be assured that He loves us and He can heal if it is in His will. Even if not we know that one day we will be completely healed as our bodies are perfected in heaven. We can have so much peace as we rest in Him alone.