Morning

March 16

Numbers 33:55 ⁵⁵"'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.

Moses warned the Children of Israel. He told them they needed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land God had given them. We know from archeology that the people that lived there practiced some very dark religions that included the burning of live babies and lewd sexual fertility practices. God was establishing a nation that represented Him at the crossroads of the world. If the impression the world received was mixed with evil then the message too would be mixed and unclear.

Unfortunately, they did not endure to see God's will done in this matter. It caused them many problems. They were tempted to incorporate the false religions of those people into Judaism. It was easier at the time of taking the Promised Land to leave those areas that were the most difficult to conquer. It was harder for later generations to deal with the descendants of those people.

That principle carries on to this day. If we deal with the difficult issues in our lives when we are made aware of them, we will save ourselves and our children problems in the future. If we compromise and do not allow the Lord to take full possession of our hearts, our children and we will pay the price later. When the Lord makes you aware of an unsurrendered area in your heart, don't compromise. Deal with it. Make it His. You can justify anything if you want, but you and your children will pay the price. That thing will be barbs in your eyes, skewing the way you see the world. It will be thorns in your sides, causing you to move in directions you would not otherwise.

Consider: They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. Deal with it now.