Easier Said Than Done

“And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.” Exodus 24:3

The Israelites made a solemn promise after they heard Moses read the law of God to them. “All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.” Undoubtedly, they had good intentions. They wanted to obey God, and they may have thought that their obligation was rather simple: just do what God said. Perhaps their enthusiasm was heightened by their recent experiences. They had seen the plagues in Egypt. They had walked out of slavery and carried with them the spoils of Egypt, given to them by parents grieving the loss of their firstborn children. They had seen the Red Sea parted, and they had crossed over on dry ground. They had seen Pharaoh and the Egyptian army drown in the Red Sea. They had literally heard the voice of God as He gave them the Ten Commandments. However, they soon found out that it was one thing to stand before Moses and make a promise and an entirely different matter to carry it out.

Most of us have great intentions in our spiritual lives. We want to read the Bible. We want to pray. We want to love the Lord, our family, and our neighbors. We want to be patient and forgiving. We want to speak kind words, lend a helping hand, and give to those in need. It takes more than resolve to live the Christian life; it also requires us to follow through.