Parashat Bechukotai: When God walks with us, 2022

Lev 26:3-27:34

When God gave his promise to Israel there was a lot attached to it. God didn’t just give them a goal, he called them to obedience and showered them with grace. God thought about the rain, the yield of the crops and trees, the length of harvest, security and safety of the land and the people, the tranquility of the people, the Israelites ability to defend themselves against larger odds, and even their birth rate. God closes his blessings with saying that he will walk with them and set his tabernacle among them.

Understand that when God calls us and gives us direction, there is a lot promisrs attached to it that is left unsaid. He simply gives us his will and calls us to obedience. Doing the will of God is seldom a strait forward process. It has valleys to plow through, mountains to climb, obstacles to removed or avoided. When we start we are seldom aware of all that God will ultimately do, usually we only have a direction. When our calling or promise is challenged by life, circumstances, setbacks, problems, and even maliciousness we seem to veer further “off course” and tend to wonder if we are in the will of God at all.

Many of us have been in the place where we stepped out in faith and things did not simply materialize in front of us. Many have had to strive in prayer and fight the fight of faith. One day I came to the realization that I was not lost on a wild goose-chase. God did not call the wrong person nor was he in need of sending someone else. I stopped suffering with “spiritual goofupism” (a dastardly deception) and began to trust that God knew what he was doing.

Israel was going to have difficulties, faith challenges, enemies, and hardships. They were all irreparably human just as we, but God in his mercy planed for it all. Even his correction was designed to bring them right back to his will, not cast them away. The power of his promise was greater than their problems. So it is with us as well. When God brought his prophetic promise to you, it came strings. God did not tell you about the trial, but he planned for it. He did not allow you to see the trouble, the back bitters, or the haters, but he planned for it. When we respond to the will of God with obedience and faith we are not just chasing a destination. God preordained that our winding path build our capacity, build skill, and bring us to a place of fierce faith. God ordained the path, just like he ordained the place.

Rav Calev Apostolic Messianic International- Gulf Coast