yiworship

[yiworship]

Our Eternal Reward

Hello YI Band! Welcome to our band's Tumblr page! Leading up to YI Camp 2022 and beyond, I would like to take some time to journal down, reflect and seek God's Word for us in this season. We have been through much in the past few years and we've definitely grown: both as individual persons and as a band. I hope this helps you and speaks to you in one way or another. Hold on tight and allow God to minister to you!

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We've all heard of the great works of Moses in the Bible: how he refused to be known as Pharoah's son so he could live with the people, how he obeyed God to go and set His people free from the land of Egypt, how he led the millions through the wilderness and so much more. One famous scene was when God has had enough of Israel and He told Moses that they can go into the Promise Land but without His presence, we marvel at Moses' response to God in Exodus 33:15-16:

"Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

Let's be honest, we want that kind of faith. But one question that the Holy Spirit asked me is: "Why was Moses able to respond like that in the first place?" That got me thinking about what it truly means to have faith in God. We humans tend to celebrate victories more than the blood, sweat and tears put into reaching them. Lets put things into perspective here:

Moses murdered an Egyptian and fled, became a shepherd and lived a life that was rather normal. God led him to the burning bush (oh come on, Moses definitely obeyed God after he sees this miracle right? Nope.) and tasked him to go and set Israel free. He doubted himself and God's plan, gave excuses and emphasised on his weakness of not being able speak well. He needed Aaron to be his spokesperson. Fast forward, he led the people out and was faced with the complains, bitterness and doubts of MILLIONS. He got frustrated at one point as the people were demanding for water. Moses disobeyed God's command by striking the rock instead of speaking to it and because of this he will never set foot into the Promise Land.

I can go on but I believe this is enough to show us that, Moses is like you and I. But his journey with God is most remarkable because Moses was always so quick to remember that God is Sovereign and that nothing else can ever satisfy him except the presence of God. Truly, his reward is God Himself. This does not come by chance, but by choice everyday.

With every victory, there must first be obedience to God.

Is God your eternal reward? Or is it the world? How are you making the tough choices today to obey God?

It could be surrendering your rebellious thoughts, or unsubscribing to the worldly success and embrace the truth of God's Word. It could be loving the unlovable and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you a new heart of compassion for them. It could be being open to correction from your LGMs/leaders because you trust that they love you enough to confront you. Or being excellent at your appointed instrument (God is the one who gives us our gifts in the first place) and seeing that this is a worship unto God.

As people of God and servants in His house, lets choose obedience and allow our faith to be stretched. I'm so excited to see what God has in store for us as we choose to worship Him daily. How powerful it will be when we come together as one to serve Him!

To end off, I would like to paint a picture of the relationship Moses had with God:

"So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day." Deuteronomy 34:5-6

Moses was buried by no human hands, but by God personally. No one knows where his grave is, but only God knows. Such a personal and warm send off to the Promise Land of promise lands: To be with God forever.

YangzGab