Cling to the Lord Your God
From The HeartPublish date: 10/11/2009
CLING TO THE LORD YOUR GOD
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NKJV
God has a wonderful plan for you - His most valued and precious creation. He has good plans; plans full of hope; plans for a great future. Man was created with the ability and the right to choose his destiny. Since man was created, the Father has been declaring the truth. To every generation, the Lord makes this clear: there are two choices and two destinies for every man and woman; there is a choice to be made for life and blessing, or a choice to be made for death and cursing. His plan is the good one! God is always truthful with us; we can believe everything He says; He is not capricious; He is not deceptive; He does not play games with us. He means what He says and He says what He means.
Adam had the opportunity to choose life or death, blessing or cursing, just as every one of us has. Through disobedience, Adam made a choice for cursing and death. God only has good plans for us, but because of the fact that Adam sold out to the devil and gave him access into the earth, the devil also has plans for us – bad plans. The devil hates the truth - he doesn’t want us to know his terrible plans for us, because if we really understood what his plans were, we would run away from him and stay away from him. The devil’s main weapon is deception – as long as he can deceive us and keep us in the dark, he can succeed in his evil endeavors. God is always truthful – He is not afraid of the truth. When the truth is revealed, God is always proved right. The truth brings Him glory and honor.
Most people think that life just happens to them; that they have no choice or control over how they end up. While it is true that there are many things that come our way initially that we can't predict; we can directly positively affect the outcome by making a good choice. By making good choices, we can head off or prevent many of the devil’s evil plans. By choosing the good, we can actually positively influence our future and the future of our children. Choosing life and blessing means actually earning the reward of life and blessing!
Verse 20 says that we can have life and blessing IF we love the Lord, obey His voice and CLING to Him!
The Hebrew word, dabaq (daw-bak’), translated “cling” or “cleave” means: to cling or adhere; to catch by pursuit. It is variously translated as abide fast; cleave (fast together); follow close (hard after); be joined (together); keep (fast); overtake; pursue hard; stick; take. The dictionary says that “cling” or “cleave” means: to adhere closely; to stick to; to hold tight, as by grasping or embracing; to be or remain close; to remain attached; to cohere; to remain emotionally attached; to hold on; to resist separation; to remain faithful. That means – get close, hold on and NEVER let go!
It's not about receiving Jesus as your Lord and Savior and then just coasting along, expecting Him to take full responsibility for your relationship. Even in human relationships, you will fail if you do not work on the relationship and if you leave everything up to the other person. Many Christians go along expecting God to hold onto them; to cling to them; to do everything for them. That is not how it works. WE are the ones who must cling to the Lord! By God’s design, just as it is instinctual for babies - human and animal - to cling to their mother and to stick close by her for provision and safety – so God has designed that we be the ones to chase after Him; to pull in close to Him; to cling to Him and never let go.
Joshua 23:8 AMP - But cling to the Lord your God as you have done to this day.
Joshua 22:5 AMP - But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you: to love the Lord your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to and unite with Him and to serve Him with all your heart and soul [your very life].
Psalms 119:30-31a NKJV - I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to Your testimonies.
Deuteronomy 10:20-21 AMP - You shall [reverently] fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and by His name and presence you shall swear. 21 He is your praise; He is your God, Who has done for you these great and terrible things which your eyes have seen.
Take responsibility for your life and your blessing; do not be lazy, lackadaisical, or sloppy in your walk with the Father; don’t ever take Him for granted. If you want God’s best in your life, if you want His blessings, you must press in to Him and cling to Him and His word as if your life depends on it – because it does!