Links for today’s readings:
Apr 30 Read: Jonah 4 Listen: (1:56) Read: Psalm 78.38-72 Listen: (7:12)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 78.35-39, 52-54
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
Reflection: Exit the Spiritual Rollercoaster
By John Tillman
Israel has spiritual ups and downs. Depending on where you start or stop the story, it’s inspiring or tragic.
The second half of Psalm 78 begins in the wilderness with Israel rebelling against God. They forget God’s goodness in bringing them out of Egypt and they suffer the consequences. Despite being oppressed in Egypt, the wilderness struggles caused Israel to recall enslavement fondly. They were willing to go back to slavery just to get some cucumbers. (Numbers 11.4-5) If the story stops there, it’s a tragedy. Israel needed their hearts, not just their bodies, freed from enslavement.
Psalm 78 closes with Israel in the promised land, settled under David’s rule. Stopping the story there gives it a happy ending, but we know dark things happened during David’s reign and the rest of the story wasn’t pretty.
Our stories also have ups and downs. Our faith oscillates, turning fully toward Jesus then turning away again. We might turn away because of sin and shame, or due to tiredness or burnout, or when experiencing suffering or struggle.
Jesus bears with us and understands our sufferings and our temptations. As God did for the psalmist and Israel, Jesus does for us. He remembers that we are “flesh…like a passing breeze.” (Psalm 78.39) As he said to his disciples in the garden, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14.38) He is merciful, forgiving our iniquities (Psalm 78.38). Jesus awaits the moment we turn to his face in repentance to be healed, restored, and accepted.
This does not mean that God does not grieve our wandering, our failures, our sin, and our rebellion. He does. Jesus works in us to destroy and eliminate sin and its influence. Like Israel, we need our hearts, not just our bodies, freed from sin and death.
With maturity, our roller coaster of rebellion and repentance smooths out to higher highs and fewer drops and dives. Eventually, Jesus, the true and better David, comes and we exit this rollercoaster for good. Instead of up and down, it will be, as CS Lewis wrote, “further up and further in.”
As desires for Egypt still affected Israel, desires for sin still affect us in our wanderings. Reflect on the destruction of Egypt described in Psalm 78.42-55 as you imagine God destroying the pull and power of sins in your life.
Moses told Pharaoh to let Israel go. Speak to your sins, saying “Let me go.”
Divine Hours Prayer: The Prayer Appointed for the Week
I thank you, heavenly Father, that you have delivered me from the dominion of sin and death and brought me into the kingdom of your Son; and I pray that, as by his death he has recalled me to life, so by his love he may raise me to eternal joys; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Hardest Words to Say: “I’m Sorry”
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