For Moses and Aaron, the ultimate was to take the children of Israel into the land God had promised them. Sadly, the forfeited that glory by abandoning the way of the Lord.

 “But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”                                                                                                                                            ~ Numbers 20:12

It is very easy to go outside the way of the Lord and begin to follow the tricks of the world. The danger is not whether or not will work; because it will work! You see, like Abraham, you’ll get Ishmael; so it works. Like Moses, the water will still gush out of the rock, though you smote it rather than speak to it; it definitely works.

The real danger is what happens after it ‘works’. When you violate the ways of the Lord in order to create your own earthly success, you attract diverse curses to your life and to you family. The people drank water; the water came out of the rock, it worked. But at the end of the day it cost Moses the ultimate – leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land.

The real blessings of the Lord make a man rich without adding any sorrows to his life. This is the type of blessing God wants to give you if only you can walk in his ways.

Many people are getting immediate results, and forfeiting the ultimate. A lot of people in business play all sorts of tricks. They make money by playing tricks; and then amass wealth which they use to buy cars, houses and live rather frivolous lifestyles. However after a few years, all the money, wealth, cars and houses are gone. All gone!

They cease to exist, because if you don’t walk in the ways of God you will lack immortality in whatever you do. Unless God is involved in what you’re doing, there will be no immortality in it. If you want to leave a legacy here on earth, if you want to have an enduring and lasting legacy, if you want to have a name that, after you’re long gone, continues to impact your generations on a positive note, you must make sure that you walk in the ways of the Lord.

I pray that God will give you the grace to walk in His ways and not sacrifice the ultimate on the altar of the immediate.

Amen!