Day 20 - Psalm 78
When Charmaine and I were first getting to know each other, it was clear that family was very important to her. Her grand-parents, living in Sutton at the time, embraced me as part of the family, and whilst my plate was never empty for long (thanks Grandma Emily!), part of the joy was hearing the faith filled stories from Grandpa Robert, about his days in Singapore during the Japanese occupation, how God saved him and his brothers from certain death.
I can’t imagine Grandpa keeping those stories for himself – they built us up, encouraged us in our faith, they are to be shared. In Psalm 78, David does the same, encourages us to not keep ‘the sweet old truths … to ourselves, we’re passing it along to the next generation.’ (MSG). What a responsibility we have, whether we are parents or not, to ensure that what God has done for us, it is not forgotten, but sows seeds for the future generations. I love hearing the praise reports on a Sunday morning, of what God is doing in and through people’s lives. He is alive and moving – what an encouragement, what a faith builder those moments are.
David recounts all the miracles that God did for the Israelites, setting them free from Egypt, parting the Red Sea, leading them by cloud by day, fire at night (verse 9-16). The bittersweet truth is that the Israelites all too frequently forgot, they ‘whined like spoiled children’ (v19) and God got righteously angry with them, yet as the Psalm goes on ‘Yet in spite of all this, they kept right on sinning. Even when they saw God’s marvels, they refused to believe God could care for them.’ (v32).
It is tragically sad that the Israelites forgot or dismissed what God had done for them and failed to take that truth into the present. God chose the new leader to come from the tribe of Judah, David, a shepherd boy, but who would form the direct lineage of the One who would write the final story, the story of grace, the story of forgiveness, the giver of eternal life, JESUS.
Think it over / Meditate on:
From stories of your past, what truths have you forgotten to take into your current season?
How can you ensure that stories of God’s faithfulness and miracles don’t stop with you – how can they be used to encourage others?
Tim
Tim Croxson, Senior Leader