I must be an Israelite. I can experience the love of God in the most
direct and wonderful way, and then question whether He really loves me the very
next moment. I can see His hand of
provision, and then wonder whether He cares for me. I can feel His strength guiding and
supporting me, and then I try to go it alone.
It is the familiar pattern of the Israelites throughout the Old
Testament.
Actually, it is not so much that I am an
Israelite, but that the Israelites and I are all human, and so are you. There is not one of us who experiences a
powerful worship service, a divine moment during private devotions, or
something surprisingly transcendent in the midst of the ordinary who then does
not go right back to business as usual, a way of life filled with fear and our
own attempts to make things right.
If that describes you, and it does, if you
are honest, then try this as a first step.
Stop beating yourself up over it.
Amnesia is part of the fallen human condition. We all forget the glories we have
tasted. We are all, as one old hymn puts
it, prone to leave the God we love. Our
Father knows this and still loves us.
His arms are always open to receive us back. His Spirit is always there guiding us toward
home.
Father, just for today, keep me close to
You. I do not want to drift, to wander,
to forget. I will pray this prayer again
tomorrow. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Copyright © 2013 by Steven R. Perkins
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