I want to write a more detailed piece on this subject in the near future, but I wanted to at least share some thoughts on it. I was reading Psalm 78 today and it really spoke to my life. The Psalm starts out with God telling us to incline our ears to His word. I started reading but without the full attention that God is telling us to give Him. I was simply reading just to read. But as I read the Psalm I came to realize that God is asking us to pay close attention. You don’t have to read a set of chapters at a time or try to get through a book all at once. Simply reading verse by verse gives us much insight into God’s word.
Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. – Psalm 78:1
“Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.” God wants us to pay attention. It reminds me of elementary school when it was story time. The teacher would sit in her rocking chair while all of the students sat Indian style paying careful attention to what the teacher was reading. Usually the teacher would tell everyone in her sweetest voice, “Everybody please pay attention.” It’s as if God is talking to us the same way. We’re so distracted with life’s worries. We’re so preoccupied with everything around us and God is calling out to us, “Hey, listen. I want to talk to you.”
A lot of times we feel big and mighty but before God’s eyes we’re small and vulnerable. We’re children in need of our Father’s advice and God is willing to give us that advice. “Incline your ears to the words of my mouth,” He says. The Psalm deals with the rebelliousness of God’s people in the desert. It goes into detail about how Israel disobeyed God. It talks about how they complained and tempted God. Even after God had freed them from Egypt with His mighty hand and had provided for them in the desert, they rebelled against God.
He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. – Psalm 78:13-17
In the 38th and 39th verses it says that God was compassionate towards them. The first 30 some verses spoke about God’s anger towards them and how much grief Israel caused Him in the desert. But in the 38th verse God says that He was compassionate towards them and that He remembered just how fragile human life is. It’s kind of like when your child or young loved one gets you upset. Maybe they’re not acting right or maybe they’re simply annoying you. Your anger rises and you just want to reprimand them. But once you cool down you look at them with tender eyes and realize they’re just kids and they don’t know any better. That’s the image I got when reading the Psalm.
I’m not suggesting that God is allowing His people to do whatever they want. But what I want to emphasize is God’s immeasurable patience with His people. Read the Psalm yourself and you’ll get an idea of just how much they grieved God. God gave them food and water in the desert. He gave them light at night and cover during the day time. God was loving and faithful while His people were the exact opposite.
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. – Psalm 78:38-39
As you read you come to realize that a lot of times we act the same way as the Israelite’s did. How many of us haven’t gone through deserts or currently find ourselves in one, and we forget about God’s goodness? Imagine a desert and the conditions of one; Hot, no water, no shade, and all these things can irritate you and even anger you. We forget about how God took us out of our Egypt with His mighty hand. We forget about the joy that we felt when we first came to know the love of God. Because of life’s worries and the difficult circumstances we encounter, we start to forget about God’s marvelous works.
The people of Israel were rebellious towards God. God was faithful and provided for their every need in the desert, yet they rebelled against Him and showed no gratitude. Sometimes we’re no different than the Israelite’s. But God is good and thankfully He offers us a new opportunity. Because of His great love we’ve lived to see another day. We don’t have to continue living the way we do. We can find ways to worship in the desert and thank God for what He has already done, what He’s doing, and what He will do.
God never stops working in our lives. Even in the desert God is protecting us, guiding us, and providing for us. The Bible shows us that God is present at all times. Not once did the Israelite’s go hungry or lack anything. This provision by God was found in the desert! If you’re going through a desert, God is with you. Don’t give up. You may not see Him but He’s there. God is faithful and because of this He deserves our worship even when we find ourselves in the desert.
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