Your 3 Honest Questions to What You Want – Deuteronomy 17 Bible Devotional

Do you know what you want in life? ๐Ÿค”

Here are two questions to think about:

  1. What is important to you?
  2. What are you working on to get more of?

Life Warning ๐Ÿ˜‹ Your answers may just give you the breakthrough you need!

3 Honest Questions about Life inspired by Deuteronomy 17

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself .. 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

Deuteronomy 17:16, 17 (NIV)

Before you take out your notebook and journal the 3 questions, let’s take a look at our answers to what’s important in our life vs what we are working day-in, day-out to have more of, shall we? ๐Ÿงก

What is IMPORTANT in Life?

It might be:
๐Ÿงก Health
๐Ÿงก Family
๐Ÿงก Time/ Life

What are you working on to get MORE of?

It might be:
๐Ÿ’ช More Money
๐Ÿ’ช Bigger House
๐Ÿ’ช Better Career

You get the drift. When we are asked what’s important to us, it’s often the intangibles. But when we look at what we are putting our hours for, it’s often the tangibles. And it’s not that easy to find an overlap between the two lists!

So how can we live a more aligned life? I believe it starts with being honest with ourselves, and asking the right questions to figure it out.

If you enjoy journaling, reflection, do click the link below to subscribe ๐Ÿงก

How Much of what You Want do You Need – Insights from Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17 bible devotional

1. What do You Want in Life?

We are not talking about the latest Macbook Pro or iPad Mini ๐Ÿ˜‹ But what we really want in life. Now, we know the most common answer is happiness. And yeah, we all know that, but the question is what makes us happy?

The answer is going to be different for everyone.

Journal Prompt 1: Journal Your Values

This is a game changer for me. When I write down what I value, I have a better understanding of what I want in life. Let’s say, we all need money to survive. But wealth accumulation is not my value.

How do I know this?
๐ŸŒท I lack the motivation to hunt for another job, just for higher pay.
๐ŸŒท I have not been able to work on a project, simply because it’s lucrative.
๐ŸŒท I always put other things before wealth accumulation.

Journal Prompts for Living your Value, inspired by Deuteronomy 16

I just want to be upfront that wealth is not a dirty word. In fact, what’s worse is wanting wealth but pretending we don’t want it, which leads me to question #2.

2. How Much do you want?

This is where the insights truly come from Deuteronomy 17 ๐ŸŒท

Deuteronomy 17 is a guidance for kings – that while they acquire horses (a necessary in battles/ life), they do not go out of their way to get more for themselves. While the kings need wives (for comfort or whatever else!), they do not take so many. And lastly, they do not over-accumulate silver and gold.

๐ŸŒต It’s crazy thinking the advice for kings in Deuteronomy still applies today!

Journal Prompt #2: Journal Your Principles

Your principle for your values should give you clarity on what you want. Let’s talk money.
1๏ธโƒฃ My value is financial security, not wealth accumulation.
2๏ธโƒฃ My principle is I will do enough to provide financial security, without following what others do to over-accumulate wealth.

Imagine if you didn’t set your principles. You may then end up pursuing lots of things to get more money, because money is important. However, the time and energy you spent on these pursuits are actually to put yourself in a certain wealth category, and no longer to provide for your family.

If it is easy to exercise discernment when it comes to money, there wouldn’t be so many money verses throughout the bible ๐Ÿœ

Mei

3. How much do I Need?

Need. It can be in practical terms or in emotional terms. What do I mean by that?

Let’s talk money again. You can cover both bases with these questions to figure out what you need.

  • What are my living expenses?
  • How much do I need to save to provide for my children & my retirement?
  • If I accumulate $x amount that I’ve calculated but the median household income is $x+$5k, how would I feel?
  • If I remain status quo but everyone around me is moving into the next wealth bracket, how would I feel?

Journal Prompt #3: Journal Your Contentment Level

Why do we consider BOTH practical and emotional? It is a chance to be honest about what we want. Because while it’s easy to figure out how much to save to get to $x, the $x+ that we need in order to feel content is our TRUE value.

We can either recognize that we ought not be pursuing the $+ or pursue the $+ and be honest that our value is not just providing for our family.

I don’t know if there’s a right answer, but I know it’s the way to move forward and gain clarity. If you’re a Christian, pray and ask for counsel!

Did this post help you? ๐Ÿ’• Share in the comments your thoughts, and find out how you can access the free bible journal workbooks here.

Try journaling through the above 3 prompts. Reflection is such a key pillar to progress in our faith journey.

Journal Prompts from Deuteronomy 17 Bible Devotional

Deuteronomy 17 Journaling Prompt

How much of what I Want do I really Need?

What are my values?

What are my guiding principles?

When do I feel contented?

God, I know you know our hearts – how easy it is to over-accumulate and lose our love for You. Please guide me as I prepare for 2022, amen.

Books on Life Goals

I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I found these books about what we want out of life which have received positive reviews ๐Ÿ’ช

1 thought on “Your 3 Honest Questions to What You Want – Deuteronomy 17 Bible Devotional”

  1. Thank you for this insightful advice to examine whether we align our values with actions. Regarding material wealth, I used to worry about saving enough for retirement. I’m liberated by 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” So to eat, I am prepared to work in some manner even when “retired”. I have paid off all debts and reduced my living expenses. Now my focus is on building new skills to work part-time in case my passive income falls short. Thanks again for this post.

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