Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 7:7–11

He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him. (Deut. 7:9)

Albert Einstein has been credited with this definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Christians often display our temporary insanity by attempting the reverse approach. Even after God has proved that He’ll always hold up His end of the covenant when we are true to ours, we choose to stray from His commandments, hoping things will be just fine. We stop doing the things of God and expect the same results from our Christian experience.

The book of Deuteronomy is basically Moses’ farewell speech before his death. It also prepared the Israelites for their entrance into the Promised Land. Using their history, Moses demonstrated the importance of obedience to God. Troubles came only when they strayed from their obligations to the covenant that they had made with God at Mount Sinai. It made sense. Moses urged them to stay true to God so they would experience His blessing. Sadly, the Old Testament is filled with episodes of their temporary insanity.

It’s so hard we need to be encouraged. It’s so simple we need to be reminded. These can only come from our High Priest, whose dedication to God was flawless no matter the difficulty. Learn from your mistakes and be a true adherent to His Word. To do otherwise is the definition of insanity.

Ask Jesus to reveal unfaithfulness in your life and commit to making it right.

Dave Knickerbocker and his family live in Ohio. He has been pastor of three churches, two as church plants.