Daily Devotional for Tuesday, September 10

Questioning the Present

“Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation,” Psalm 85:4-7.

It seems God’s people must have taken stock of their lives and recognized how bleak their condition was. As they looked around, they saw God’s judgment was upon them and they had grown weary of their plight. As they prayed, God’s people praised Him for His favor upon them and honestly confessed their rebellion. They humbled themselves in proper response to their condition, then looked to God in a repentant plea for help. In verse 6, we can almost feel the deep longing of their hearts as they contemplate that God may be beyond His patience for them.

So much time has expired since that generation of Israelites, yet not much has changed, has it? We can also declare with thanksgiving that God has been good to us, no matter where we live. We can examine our lives and rejoice in God’s abundant favor on our generation; yet, we still stumble in sin just like those Israelites so long ago. Despite all the goodness of God in our lives, we still find our way outside His boundaries and into sinful rebellion. However, the mercy and grace of God toward His children have never changed nor diminished. We can still look to Him in repentance and cry out for forgiveness and revival.

REMINDER
If you recognize you are distant from God, do not continue in sin. He will hear your cry of repentance and pour out His grace to restore.

Steven Ridings