“You may enter.”
I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve heard that phrase.
My daughter would create a path to her bedroom out of blankets, which led to a little makeshift stepladder of pillows stacked to the top of her twin bed.
On top of her mattress was her “chair” (a pillow) where she would sit and address her peasants (that would be, well, mostly me). She was the princess in full regal, covered in feathers and fake jewels from the top of her crown to the tips of her sparkly little shoes.
With a slow stately wave, she would beckon family members to enter and, with a chin slightly raised, ask how the royals might help us. The poor peasants (mostly me) would then inquire if the princess would like to come eat dinner with the other commoners or summon her for a royal bath.
Even today when I hear the words, “You may enter,” I think of the princess on her fluffy throne and the flourish of her hand, and I laugh. It was fun. It was creative. It was an imagination gone wild!
But as crazy as it sounds, it also always reminds me of a favorite scripture. Deuteronomy 6:17-18 says –
Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes He has commanded you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land the Lord your God swore to give your fathers….
In earlier verses in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, the Lord gave His people the greatest commandment known as the Shema. It was meant to be ingrained in the hearts and minds of God’s people. You probably recognize these verses –
Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
If you carefully observe the Shema and live it out daily – you love and obey – then you may enter the good land. It is the place where God fulfills His promises. It is that place of abundant life (John 10:10).
So many times I think God has created a path for me. It is clear; it is direct. It may not be outlined with blankets and pillows, but I can see it and it leads me straight to Him. He invites me to enter and to love and be loved. It is the good land. It is a place of fulfillment and peace.
Sometimes that “good land” reflects serving Him by serving others. Other times that “good land” means being still and resting in His presence. Always it means remaining in a love relationship with Jesus and obeying His commands.
You may or may not feel like a princess. You might not feel like you are worthy to go before the King of kings. But He invites you to enter into His presence. He desires to give you the “good land” and the abundant life that are only found in Christ.
Are you entering and living in the good land? Are you trusting in God’s promises and dependent upon His Word and His leading to set your life on the right path? How do His promises of the abundant life encourage you today?
Michelle Hicks is an Editorial Project Leader on the Adult Ministry Publishing team at Lifeway. She gives leadership to the team responsible for producing Bible study resources for women.