January 2, 2024

Passage Read: Numbers 36 - Deuteronomy 3
Meditation Verse: 3:26

Thought

The Lord is gracious, and He does appear to change His mind on occasion. But not here. No amount of pleading would change His mind. He loved Moses and honored him, but He had declared that Moses would not enter the promised land because of his failure to show Him honor in the matter of water from the rock. What to us seems like a small matter, to God was sufficient that He would not change His mind to allow Moses to enter the land. In fact, He told Moses to not speak to Him again about the matter. It was decided and God would not relent.

Application

The parable of the persistent widow tells us to keep pleading in hope of receiving what we've been denied, because what to now has been refused could yet be granted. The heart of the judge can be changed. But God will not relent in every case. Some are decided and done. I can ask an authority or even God to reconsider a decision, but I also need to be prepared for a "no." I don't know if I can recognize every time a decision has hope of being reversed, but I need to be prepared to accept when a decision won't be changed.