Once again, in Deuteronomy 10:12-22, we find God pleading with his people to respond to his love and affection for them. It is astonishing that God would have to make such a plea. You would think that any person would naturally be compelled by the grace they had received to be ever grateful and responsive to God. But around every human heart is a great wall that each of us has built to maintain our autonomy over and against God’s claims on our lives. Once this wall is built it is very hard to pull it down and, even when it is pulled down, it has a way of growing back up again. So, God pleads with his people saying, “Circumcise your hearts”. In other words: “Remove the wall around your hearts.” He tells them not to be “stiff necked,” a compelling image, possibly taken from horses that could not be pulled around with the bridle to face a different way. In other words: “Don’t be so fixated on your own life goals that you will not allow God to turn you to something better.” Are you willing to turn away from your self-determined dreams and ambitions and consider what God might have for you instead? Don’t be so ‘stiff in the neck’ that you can’t even turn your head to consider a different life option. The extent to which your heart is malleable and responsive will be the extent to which you walk with God and experience his blessings.
Give your goals and ambitions over to God.
Read Deuteronomy 10
