God's Big Promise

We talk a lot about the promises of God. We talk a lot about the goodness of God. We talk about the good things that God has done in our lives, the prayer that He has answered, the gift that He has given. We talk about what it's like to live in God's blessing and to know that God loves us and to feel that love through His blessings upon us and the fulfillment of the promise of His goodness. 

Yeah, we do. 

One of the things that I love about God, though, is that even as we're talking about all of this stuff, our God is a God that never lets us settle. 

Sometimes, we think we would settle. We think if we could just get God to do this one thing for us, that would be enough. In fact, we pray that quite a bit, don't we? God, if You would just do this one thing for me, I would never ask You for anything ever again. I promise. 

But our promise is so small compared to God's. Our promise is almost laughable. 

See, God doesn't let us settle for that one thing, no matter what it is, how much we want it, or even how good it may be. It doesn't matter if that one thing is the thing that puts our entire life back on the trajectory that God has for it and naturally leads us into a thousand other blessings. It doesn't matter if that one thing is the first thing or what we think is the last thing on our journey into something good. 

God keeps reminding us that His promise is always bigger than this one thing. That He keeps working, keeps moving, keeps loving, and keeps promising beyond even whatever goodness this is. 

When Israel was entering the Promised Land, they got into Canaan enough to settle down a bit. They had conquered enough towns that the people felt like they finally had some breathing room. They could pause for a little bit and rest in God's goodness. Actually, they even had enough victory that they were able to settle down and start dividing up the land. 

They were casting lots and settling down and building (and re-building) towns and putting their wives and children and livestock into places that they might finally get to call "home." They were, sufficiently, "in" the Promised Land. They were in Canaan. They had come to the place that God had promised them. 

But even here, God reminds them that this isn't it. 

While they are dividing land, God reminds them this isn't all the land. While they are casting lots, God reminds them to cast lots for the land they haven't conquered yet. While they are rejoicing in finally spreading out a bit, God reminds them that they will spread out even further than this. 

The people have a taste of the promise, and it would be easy to settle just for that. After all, it is good. 

But it's not very good. 

God has so much more for them. 

And I love that He keeps reminding them of that, even in a place that feels really good already.