September 06, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"We Cannot Turn Back Time"
Numbers 20:11-12
New International Version
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Wouldn't you love the ability to go back in time and change something you did or said? We know there have been moments in our lives - lawful moments when we acted on the impulse of the flesh—that we would dearly love to call back.
Don't you imagine, during those days prior to his home going, Moses would have cheerfully given his right arm to relive that incident at the rock? "Oh Lord, if I could only back up and do that all over! I would have cried out for Your help to control my anger. I would have been more concerned for Your glory. I would have done exactly as you instructed."
But he couldn't go back. In a single moment of rage, he forfeited his right to lead Israel. He threw away his opportunity to enter the Promised Land. The sad fact is, we can not go back. None of us can. We can not undo sinful deeds or unsay sinful words. We can not reclaim those moments when we were possessed by rage, lust, cruelty, indifference, or hard-headed pride. Like Moses, we may be forgiven for those sins and have them blotted out of our record by the blood of Christ. Even so, we must live with the consequences of our words and our actions. What we sow, the Scriptures warn, we will also reap.
No, we can't go back. Our gracious Lord has covered our past with His own blood, given on the cross for us. David reminds us that, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). But we can learn to walk much closer with Him, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. We can keep short accounts with Him and lean on the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts and shield us from destructive, life-shattering sins. He will do it. He has promised to provide us with a way of escape so that we can bear up under
any temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13)—any temptation at any moment.
