Be Still and Know - "Like Our Ancestors, We Have Sinned"

(from www.premierchristianradio.com)

1. Psalm 106:6-7
   
   
   
   
   
   'Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly! Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord’s miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them. Instead, they rebelled against him at the Red Sea.'
   
   I strongly recommend that you read through this psalm and the previous one because they are twins. In Psalm 105 we hear about all the amazing things that God did to guide and strengthen his people from their earliest days until their entry into the promised land. Now, in Psalm 106, the psalmist takes another tour through the history of God’s people and concludes that, humanly speaking, it was a complete disaster. Just as God was consistently faithful and loving, his people were repeatedly faithless and disobedient. But the psalmist didn’t simply point the finger at people in the past. He recognised that his own generation was also guilty of disobeying God and forgetting to walk in his ways.
   
   As we look back through human history, there is much that we can learn. Every page of history contains accounts of bad decisions and stupid failures and, if we are honest, we aren’t so very different. Our lives fall well short of perfection. We need to own up to our failures and strive to live richer, fuller and more obedient lives. The point of looking back is to learn. We don’t have to repeat the past, but can set off on a new journey inspired by the lessons that have been well learnt in history.
   
   
   
   
   
   The most consistent fault of God’s people in this psalm was the sin of forgetting. I’m sure that’s something we can all relate to. Some things are minor: we may forget someone’s name or whether they take milk in their coffee. But forgetting God is another matter. Time and again we read that the people of Israel forgot the way in which God had blessed them. They carried on with their lives as if God didn’t exist. We need to do everything we can to remember who God is and what he has done. We need to ensure that we maintain a rhythm of worship and prayer so that we can’t possibly forget our great God.
   
   
   
   
   
   Question: What do you do to ensure that you don’t forget what God has done in your life?
   
   Prayer: Loving God, thank you that you never forget me. Help me to make sure that I never forget you. Amen