Taking the easy way

Following God’s way is not always easy.  God never promised us an easy life.  But faced with difficulties, sometimes God’s people seek an easier way.

That’s what happened with the tribe of Dan in the promised land.  It says in Joshua 19:47,

But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it.

They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their forefather.

God had promised the Israelites that he would help them in their battles against the Canaanites, but apparently, for some reason, the Danites had problems gaining victory over the people that God had told them to conquer.

But instead of taking the attitude of Caleb, who put his faith in God despite difficult odds (Joshua 14:12), the Danites gave up.  Instead, they simply went somewhere else that was easier to conquer, and took that land instead.

The book of Judges relates this story in more detail in chapter 18 (although Leshem is called Laish in Judges).

What was the problem with all this?  They no longer were putting their trust in God, but in themselves.  And that led them to walk away from God and to start worshiping idols, as you can see at the end of Judges 18.

And that’s what happens to us when we start taking the easy way instead of God’s way.  We stop trusting God, which leads us into even more compromises.

Eventually, unless we repent, we find ourselves far away from God, and we don’t even realize how it all happened.

How about you?  Are you taking the easy way?

Are you so worried about your finances that you’re willing to do something morally questionable in order to get more money?

Are you so frustrated by being unable to find a Christian to marry that you are now seeking a partner among non-Christians?

Are you feeling so much pressure from your non-Christian family or friends about living God’s way, that you’re tempted to just give in so that you don’t have to keep fighting them anymore?

Don’t do it.  God has promised to be with you and to give you all you need.  Don’t give in to the easy way, just because things are tough now.  Instead listen to the words of David when he said,

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)