I overlook this chapter so often when I read it. Usually when I read this chapter I read it as a warning of how God is going to get the Israelites if they don't honor him (a threat). But it's not. It's an honest reminder of our own human nature. How we tend to take credit for all that is good in our life, and we blame outside forces for the bad. God is reminding me that it's all Him. The good, the bad, the ugly... He did it.

I'm not good at my job because of my skill, I'm prosperous because God wants me to be. Why? I don't know, it could change tomorrow, but that's not the point. The point is he has a plan, I'm just a part of it. I have to stop looking at the events of my life (good or bad) as God is good to me, or Why has my God forsaken me.

In war, sometimes you send troops off to be killed. You know they will be. No Commander ever thinks all of his soldiers are coming back. He knows some won't. Pain and disappointment and heartache are part of life, and come with the victories.

Deuteronomy 8:1