Are you familiar with the term “yes man”? This is typically used in the workplace to describe an employee who outwardly voices only affirmation toward others, but most significantly toward his or her boss. The value of a “yes man” is that the boss gets to tune into daily affirmation and enjoy continuous ego strokes throughout the workday. The obvious drawbacks include the hazard of working with someone who can’t be trusted to let us know when we’re headed down the wrong path.
Throughout their journey in the desert, the Israelites have heard the voice of God. All along He’s been keeping them up to speed on where they stand with regard to their spiritual direction in life. When they are doing the right thing, God is quick to pour out his promised blessings so that they can clearly connect their obedience to God’s favor with them. In the same light, when they are doing the wrong thing, they notice the blessings begin to fade as they lose favor with the Lord. As parents, we practice this same principle with our children to teach them these eternal truths. Additionally, even during these times when our children lose favor with us, they are shown and assured that our love never diminishes.
Losing favor with our Lord does not in any way diminish His eternal love for us. Nevertheless, our Father is not a “yes God”. He tells us nothing that isn’t truth. When He makes a covenant agreement with us, such as: “if you follow my commands blessing will come”, we know with absolute certainty our role in that covenant. Deuteronomy 9:23 gives us a real- life example of mankind disregarding our portion of the covenants God makes with us. To this day, absence of faith still manifests itself in our own disobedience. In other words, if we truly trusted God, we would have followed Him. The good news today is that we also know that when we follow through with our portion, God already has the blessing in His hand and He’s holding it out for us within our reach. Our God is perfectly trustworthy and His promises are absolutely truth.
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