WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on Psalm‬ ‭106‬:‭10‬-‭15

“So He saved them from the hand of one who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries; Not one of them was left. Then they believed His words; They sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for His plan, But became lustfully greedy in the wilderness, And put God to the test in the desert. So He gave them their request, But sent a wasting disease among them.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭106‬:‭10‬-‭15‬ ‭NASB2020

>> When God acts in saving and delivering His people out of the hands of their haters, oppressors, and enemies, then they all believe and sing praises. When God’s salvation is made available to all through Jesus, whoever believes will receive it. And those who receive it for the first time rejoice in singing praises. This is a clear sign of someone who truly experiences salvation.

Now, like the Israelites, we too are prone to quickly forget God’s works through Jesus. We are also naturally inclined not to wait for God’s plan and can easily become lustfully greedy in the “wilderness” (testing, trial, or challenging times) of our life, especially when waiting upon God’s promises. The consequence of “putting God to the test” (like telling Him that He is unable to fulfill His plan, will, or promises in our life) is “wasting away” the life that God has given us through/in Jesus.

God knows that the nature of humankind is forgetful. He calls and reminds the church to repent and return to the first love (cf. Revelation 2:4–5) with Jesus, when we experienced the joy of our salvation in Christ—so that our life in Christ will not waste away in times of trial and challenge.

May the Holy Spirit remind us all. Amen.