Today we’ll read Numbers 34, John 5 and Psalm 44 from the Contemporary Version.

READING

May God bless the reading of His Word.

In Psalms 44, we hear the cry of a people who have been brought low. They remember, in the first part of the psalm, how God saved their ancestors and defeated their enemies and gave them the Promised Land.

But then the psalm quickly turns. It talks about how God rejected them and allowed terrible things to happen to them, including being scattered from their land, and being taken into slavery. They even talk about how they have not turned from God, and they ask Him to wake up and rescue them.

In looking at this, we have to put it in context. The reason the calamities happened to the people of Israel is they *did* sin, and they *did* turn their backs on Him. And God warned them that this would happen if they did not repent. Generations passed and then this generation, the one writing this psalm, turned back to God and asked Him to remember them, which He ultimately did.

And that is the God of love we know. Yes, there are consequences to ignoring Him, but when we repent, He does forgive and restore. Jesus’ shed blood and His resurrection guarantee that for those who believe in Him and make Him their Lord. I can be the most hard-headed man on the face of the earth, but if I come to an understanding of my brokenness and rebellion, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, covers my sin and makes me right with God.

On Facebook today, a person asked the question, “Why do we have a hard time believing God loves us?” I had to answer that one. I said, “I think the reason we have a hard time believing God loves us is we know all of our own sins…even all those deep, dark horrible thoughts we are afraid to admit we have. It is almost impossible to fathom that a righteous and holy God could love us, knowing that He knows even that part of us. It takes time to learn to trust Him enough to accept that He really *is* that loving.”

So, even though the people of Israel were bemoaning their situation in Psalms 44, they were in the perfect place to receive His love, because they had come around to believing again in who He was.

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Until next time, may God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.

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