Earlier this week I read Psalm 106, and I have been thinking about verse seven:
Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,The Israelites and I, unfortunately, share the same DNA. They had just seen the Lord do miracle after miracle in leading them out of Egypt. Not just one, but several supernatural events. OBVIOUSLY God was involved in their lives. He was orchestrating their freedom from slavery. Yet, they come to the edge of the Red Sea and decide that this last rescue is too much for God. Throughout the history of the Israelites, they cycle between belief for a while, and then unbelief.
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
As I continue to read God's Word and to live my life, it seems that, like the forgetful and idolatrous Israelites, I have to continually remember to walk in the truth that I already know. The particular part of the verse that stands out to me is that "they did not remember the abundance of [God's] steadfast love". I recently had one of those moments when life didn't go the way I wanted it to, and I was almost down road of rebellion in my heart. I wanted to doubt God and to shout at Him and to give up hope that this particular desire would ever be met. Many of us have been there--when we still don't get the job after the fifth different interview. When we still don't get a pregnancy after numerous doctor visits and tests. When we still don't have a marriage after going on at least a million dates.
Like the Israelites, I can forget the abundance of the Lord's steadfast love that He has shown me consistently over the years and focus on the one area in which I don't feel loved, or where I fear I will never see His hand. They knew God had already rescued them from Pharoah's control. Yet they were still afraid they were going to die at the hand of the Egyptians in the desert. I know that Jesus has rescued me from the pit of hell and has redeemed my life. Yet I still fear the pain of the lack of the one last thing I think I need. . .
I am trying to grasp that right here, right now, in the place of feeling like this one thing will never change, NOW is when I have to remember the Lord's steadfast, abundant love and His faithfulness. Right this minute is when I need to believe in God's goodness and mercy toward me and trust that He will, if not give me what I want, rescue me from the despair and disappointment that threaten. The Lord did part the Red Sea. However, because of the lack of belief of the people, they did die in the desert, as a result of refusing to believe in the promises of God. I have the choice whether I believe or not, and while I don't risk dying in the desert, I do fear missing the peace and glory of God in my life if I forget the love He has already abundantly shown me through Jesus.
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