- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 17,520
7 April 2008
Word on the Web
Psalm 73 v 1-3
God is truly good to Israel, to those who have pure hearts.
But I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith
because I was jealous of proud people. I saw wicked people doing well.
A great thing about the Psalms is that we can see the writer talking about faith and saying prayers without pretending life is what it is not. We see and hear the prayers of writers who are faithful but who also question, doubt and even challenge God. In the words, 'God is truly good to Israel' the writer sees Israel's history in relationship to God. God called the people to be faithful and in return made them the special nation of Israel. God has remained faithful to this agreement. This agreement was an important part of Israel's story. The story was an expression of Israel's identity, a bit like looking through many family photographs. Yet even though this special relationship is owned, the writer almost stopped believing because unjust people were doing well while the faithful struggled.
When we choose to believe in God, we make the choice and that's our responsibility. It's like walking into a large lake of water. The laws change - try running when the water is chest deep. Others choose not to believe and live by different rules, that's their choice.
When life is as the psalmist here describes, the question is not, 'why do you let it happen God?' but 'how are you calling me to respond?'
O God, I believe. Help my unbelief. Amen.
Written by Denis Tully
Word on the Web
Psalm 73 v 1-3
God is truly good to Israel, to those who have pure hearts.
But I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith
because I was jealous of proud people. I saw wicked people doing well.
A great thing about the Psalms is that we can see the writer talking about faith and saying prayers without pretending life is what it is not. We see and hear the prayers of writers who are faithful but who also question, doubt and even challenge God. In the words, 'God is truly good to Israel' the writer sees Israel's history in relationship to God. God called the people to be faithful and in return made them the special nation of Israel. God has remained faithful to this agreement. This agreement was an important part of Israel's story. The story was an expression of Israel's identity, a bit like looking through many family photographs. Yet even though this special relationship is owned, the writer almost stopped believing because unjust people were doing well while the faithful struggled.
When we choose to believe in God, we make the choice and that's our responsibility. It's like walking into a large lake of water. The laws change - try running when the water is chest deep. Others choose not to believe and live by different rules, that's their choice.
When life is as the psalmist here describes, the question is not, 'why do you let it happen God?' but 'how are you calling me to respond?'
O God, I believe. Help my unbelief. Amen.
Written by Denis Tully
