#DailyDevotion Do We Often Despise God’s Grace?
Psalm 78 32In spite of all this they kept on sinning and didn’t believe His wonders. 33So He made their days vanish like a vapor, and their years came to an end in terror. 34When He struck them down, they searched for Him, turned back, and eagerly looked for God. 35They remembered God was their Rock, and the Most High their Redeemer. 36But with their mouths they flattered Him and with their tongues they lied to Him. 37In their hearts they didn’t stand true to Him but were unfaithful to His covenant.
The history of the Israelites isn’t a pretty one from God’s perspective. No matter how the LORD delivered them, they rebelled and turned against them. No matter what wonders or signs He did before them, they did not trust Him. When He struck them down because of their sin, they sought Him out through Moses. For brief moments in time they remembered God was their Rock and their Redeemer, like a drunkard vomiting or wheeling from a hangover, they would cry out to God for help. In their cries for help, their heart was not in it. They were flattering God with their tongues and were lying. They probably did not believe God would do anything for them and when He did, they didn’t believe it came from Him. They were unfaithful to His covenant in their hearts.
How often do we who were brought up in the Church not really trust God with our hearts? We may go to Church and pray but our hearts are not truly attached to the heart of Jesus Christ. God at best is our insurance policy. If it is all true then great but we don’t really believe it. We do it because we were simply raised that way and we want people and God (if He exists) to think well of us. We may cry out to Him when things go bad, but we really don’t expect Him to do anything. Our hearts really don’t trust Him. Many times we are not any better than the Israelites.
38Yet being merciful, He forgave their sin and didn’t destroy them. Many times He restrained His anger and didn’t stir up all His fury. 39He remembered they were only flesh, a breeze that blows and doesn’t come back.
God was many times merciful to them. Often Moses played an intermediary for them and pleaded God’s name revealed in Ex. 34:6 to God the LORD. Based on His name, the LORD forgave them and was merciful and kind to them, though they did not deserve it. He did not wipe them all out and start over with Moses. The LORD disciplined and poured out His wrath on a few so the rest could see it and repent. God knows they were only flesh. Sin reigned in their hearts, minds and spirits. Their hearts were not circumcised. How could they do any better? They were here today and tomorrow they were gone.
How often has God, the LORD, been merciful to us? Of course we never deserve it. He has given us His grace in Jesus Christ. He has either had us born in Christian households or brought the faith to us through faithful men and women of His Church. He has placed outposts in our communities where He has His Word proclaimed to us. He gives us men to forgive our sins when we fail. He baptizes us and joins us to the work, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He gives us the body and blood of His Son Jesus Christ to forgive us, give us eternal life and preserve us in this faith.
He does all these things for us and how often like the Israelites we treat the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ with contempt. He has given us His Holy Spirit to keep us from sinning yet we desire what we do not have and sin getting it. Let us repent of our sin of not trusting solely in the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ.God truly has given us everything we need for this life and the next to be content, joyful, and have serenity and sobriety of mind and spirit.
Heavenly Father, when we sin like the Israelites, give us the gift of repentance so we may sincerely turn from our sin and trust only in Jesus Christ, Your Son. In His name we pray. Amen