[Translation: [French | Italian | Spanish]
I had the privilege of studying Psalm 78 with our church in Montreal.
The Psalm is written with the objective of telling the next generation of what God desired for them to know. I hope you enjoy this study as much as I did.
Our generation’s greatest enemy is distractions that come to take us away from Jesus. Anything that diverts our attention from Jesus to ourselves and the world around us is not from God [tweet this]. What are the distractions in your life?
We forget that we toss ourselves out of God’s protection as soon as we get out of His way and run after the distractions in our generation. We should never blame God for the bad things that happen in our lives when we do not obey His instructions, it is our own fault.
HOPE
One strong word that stands out in the Psalm 78 is “Hope”: it teaches this coming generation to set their Hope in God.
“That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” (Psalm 78:7)
Our life is full of challenges and without hope our heart will become sick. We need to learn to put our trust in God. For this we must start by knowing what God has done in the past. Reminding ourselves of what God did for our forefathers will release hope and trust in God that empowers our generation to face tomorrow’s challenges. Hope, because we walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
REMEMBER
The biggest legacy we can pass on to our children is a faith rooted in God. They’re going to go through tough times and they will always at some point remember the God of their fathers, the faith of their parents and what parents taught them about the Bible.
Do not turn your past memories into a cause of shame, weakness or habitual sin. Cultivate a habit to gratefully remember God’s mercy during those times of failures. Walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and believe that our children will do better than us. Pray about it, believe and do not doubt it.
Diligently studying and abiding in His world will help us set our hearts right before God. An upright heart is a steadfast heart!
Declare, I am steadfast in my faith no matter the circumstances and the sorrow. Don’t run away from God when there is an opposition. When facing problems, think of the wonders He has done in your life and His miracles. Remember, only when there is an opposition then God’s glory comes down.
TESTIFY
The psalmist reminds us to testify the goodness of God. You overcome the devil by the words of your testimony. Your testimony is powerful!
“First, then, let us associate God with memories of thankful remembrance.” Then it’s time to testify it to everyone around. We can see His presence more clearly when we look back in our past nd realize that HE has been faithful to us even in our weakness. We learn from our limitations, prudence from our failures, and avoid temptations by remembering where and how that caused us to lose His holy presence. Sharing it not only defeats the work of the enemy, it sets you stronger into your new chapter.
NEVER DOUBT
When troubles come don’t test God in your heart. Every time you doubt God you insult Him. God was angry with the Israelites because they did not trust Him. Yet, He gave them food to satisfy their hunger. He blessed them with plenty of manna, healthy and enjoyable food. Yet, people deceitfully twisted their faith from the Lord and provoked Him to anger. They were never satisfied.
GREATER DESIRES
They craved that which God had not thought fit to give them – meat. They must have meat for their lust to gratify a fleshy desire. Crave is body desire. Craving a person is a lust. It leads to rebellion. God caused meat to rain upon the people as dust. They were well filled and yet they were not satisfied. Such is the nature of lust; it is content with nothing, and the more it is honoured the more it grows.
Let this be your prayer today: Lord, do not give me what I crave because it is not what I need.
Lord, not my will but Yours be done. Have Your way in me, don’t do what I want but do what You want. Let me come where You are Lord not where I want You to be …
Declare this: I don’t want to break Jesus heart. My highest loyalty is to Jesus. Jesus, we love you!
Blessed? Don’t forget to share it with someone.