by Pastor Bob Lawrenz
King David recalls God’s mighty works in today’s Psalm. This man after God’s own heart relishes in the faithfulness of the Lord, and sits in awe of His great power. The good times are times to praise Him and sing. The hard times are to draw us back to Him when we have strayed, and rejoice through it all.
But, not every difficult time is a judgment inflicted because of sin. Most often, it is just life in a fallen world. Straying concedes a starting point of fellowship and relationship. We have a sense of what it means to be God’s elect: His, and chosen before the foundation of the earth. What about that time before we knew God’s call upon our hearts? Often it is a time of sin, shame, and selfishness. If we are to glory, we glory in God’s ability to know us and call us anyway; to catch our hearts; to draw us to His side; to reveal His love for us.
The Psalmist writes here of God’s foreknowledge and His ability to love us enough to keep us, in spite of our tendency to stray. His works are fearsome and hold us in awe. In hindsight, we say, “Look what the Lord just did!”
Jesus’ awe inspiring accomplishments catch our attention and have the calculated effect of returning our minds and hearts back to Him. I use the word “calculated” because Jesus knows what it will take to get us to return to His side, and it is different for each of us. He is a very personal Savior and desires that personal relationship with us. As He knows us, He wants us to know Him…
(from the hymn, Come Thou Fount)
O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy grace Lord like a fetter, bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.
O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy grace Lord like a fetter, bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.