Keep Your Soul

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Deuteronomy 4:9a

Keep your soul diligently. We do not have the luxury of letting life carry us through time. We do not have the privilege of sitting back and letting God do all the work while we just lounge on the porch of our hearts to see what happens next. No. First we are called into the battle. Like the soldiers under a great general, we follow the commands God gives. He plans the battle. He puts each one where he needs to be to gain victory, but He gives the battle to us.

When the battle is over, and the time for peace comes, still our general says "keep watch." We are still in a battle for our souls. If our enemy cannot conquer us by war and killing, he will come in secret, quietly trying to make us forget the battle.

"God didn't fight for you; you just had heart. It was you and your people who had the victory."

Or he tries to make us lazy. "Does God really expect you to follow all those rules? You're safe now. Surely you deserve rest now."

He coos in our ears what we want to hear to lull us to sleep, to clear the way once again for his armies.

Keep your soul diligently. Never forget God's way. Never forget His authority. And never forget His victory. It is God, not you, who wins wars. It is God, not you, who is righteous and perfect. And it is God, not you, who gave you a good land to live in, a land of hope and peace and abundance. He did not mean for you to squander it on yourself. He meant it to raise you up to guard it, and to declare what God does for those He loves.