Abiding in the PsalmsSample

The cycle

When you look at the big picture of the Old Testament, you can see a cycle being formed. God’s people follow Him and then they forget Him, God delivers them from a situation that they got themselves into, so they worship Him and follow Him. But then they forget Him, worship other idols, and then God delivers them from a situation that they got themselves into, and then they praise Him...and on the cycle goes. This psalm shows us this, and although the situations may be different, we act very similarly to the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. 

Why is it that we find our own faith goes in cycles? Sometimes we feel great about our relationship with God; other times, we feel distant and haven’t opened our Bibles for ages. Often, this is because we forget God, just like the Israelites did. We forget Jesus, we lose perspective, “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. In the desert they gave into their craving; in the wilderness they put God to the test” (v13-14). Sound familiar? 

When we are tempted to wonder if God still loves us, remember Jesus. If He never did another thing for any one of us, if He turned off his blessings and He stopped providing for us, Jesus is "what He has done for us lately". He doesn’t need to do anything else, yet out of his goodness and mercy He gives us blessing upon blessing, gift upon gift, joy upon joy. He is a good and faithful God. “We ought to live simple, normal, uneventful days full of amazed, thankful joy” – Timothy Keller. 

Questions

Where are you in your relationship with the Lord at the moment?

Why do you think you stray from Him?

Is there a common trend, something you may need to change in order to stop the cycle of wandering? 

Pray

“Lord, in Christ I have been forgiven, adopted into your family, made righteous in your sight, given the gift of the Spirit, and assured of my resurrection into glory unimaginable. Remind me that if you never did another thing for me, I should praise and serve you with my whole being for the rest of my life. Amen.” – Timothy Keller.