God knows the difference

A few of us were discussing Psalm 78 today and the fact that so often we complain like the Israelites did. 

It would be easy to get discouraged and stay at the point of thinking, “But I complain so much.”  We need to repent of our grumbling and at the same time worship the Lord for dying for us to take away our sins and cover us in the righteousness of Christ.  Jesus paid it all, we have died (to our flesh) with Him and been given new life in Him.  He wants us to walk out our faith with a joyful, trusting attitude, and we can because He has given us His Spirit. 

The Lord knows that we are but dust.  He remembers our frailty.  When Elijah was running from Jezebel, and told the Lord that he was the only one left who had not bowed down to Baal, God lovingly refreshed him and told him the truth of the situation: there were others who were still faithful to God.  God could have scolded Elijah for feeling sorry for himself, but He did not. 

One commentary says, “God knows the difference between struggling faith and contemptuous unbelief.”  When we doubt, we can pray, “I believe, but help my unbelief.”  The Lord generally responds by reminding us of truth.

I know that in my own self I would be like the mocking Israelites–but I am not because of God’s mercy in my life.  This makes me stop to praise the Lord for His salvation.  All the glory belongs to Him.

Don’t be discouraged.  Be thankful for God’s grace in your life.  When you are tempted to complain, take that thought captive to Jesus.  Put your past failures behind you and press forward in His strength. 

Week Four Questions

Did you notice how the Israelites did remember the mighty works of God on their behalf, but they still refused to believe that He could deliver them, and instead mocked Him?  By God’s grace alone we are kept from mocking Him, but we do so often doubt His sovereign goodness in our lives.

Does remembering what God has done for you and others in the past help you to trust God in the present and for the future, or are you prone to be like the Israelites?

Lord, we do believe, but please help our unbelief.

Quote from How to Read the Psalms

“The Psalms teach us that our emotions are grounded in our faith, our covenant faith.  This contradicts our mistaken belief that emotions are something over which we have no control. 

Contrary to this, notice how in the Psalms the composer’s  feelings are associated with his relationship to God.  When God is distant, the psalmist is sad, afraid, ashamed, doubtful, even angry.  When God is near, he is happy and secure; he even expresses his love.

It is simply not true that our emotional life is something over which we have no control.  The Psalms can help us to discipline our emotions.  This does not mean that we should repress our emotions; far from it, if we follow the example of the psalmist.  The Psalms are an honest expression of emotions.  We get a privileged insight into the negative feelings of the psalmist to which we can all relate.

In the Psalms, however, the negative always leads to the positive.  Doubt leads to trust; anger towards God turns to love; sadness to joy.  But we must remember that  the Psalms are not magical incantations.  It sometimes appears that the psalmist changed his negative feelings to positive ones in a brief moment, but this isn’t how it happened.  The Psalms compress time in such a way that what was a long process appears as a sudden insight.  Honest emotional struggle stands behind the Psalms.

In conclusion, remember that emotions aren’t a separate compartment in our lives.  What we know often effects how we feel; what we feel often determines what we select to know.  Also, feeling often leads to action.”

From: How to Read the Psalms by Tremper Longman III