“Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day…
‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
‘But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!'” Psalm 81:1-3,6-13
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
“Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments!” Deuteronomy 5:7,29
Sing aloud! Rejoice! The Lord has done great and amazing things!.. How dare He bring testing after blessing! But in the same love that motivates His graces and favor, God will not let His children flirt with strange gods or forget Him in the secret place. How natural it is in the flesh to settle for the comfy cushy of deliverance and forget the one true God who did the delivering. Relishing relief must never take the place of dependence, nor satisfaction of need the place of praise. God tests us as proof that He loves us, and is jealous for our attentive and whole-hearted devotion in return. (Genesis 22:1-2,15-17; Exodus 16:4; Deuteronomy 8:2; Job 1:6-12)
Too often the happy heart tunes out the voice of God. Strained under trials we cry out, but lifted we go our merry way. Bound by angst and evil and pain we groan, yet freed we forget. Needy we desperately plead, yet helped we flee thankless. And we chafe when distress returns, having settled into I’m finally where I deserve to be. How dare another burden! (Luke 17:12-18)
We must remember what it cost our Lord to redeem us. He bore our burden to relieve us, and was crucified so we could be delivered. He has no guile and is never capricious. He tests us to garner attention away from ease, affections from new little gods, so we revere only Him. He tests us to keep us singing and thanking Him as Savior and Giver of all good gifts. He tests desiring that we pass, and intently listen, keep open wide for Him to fill, and endeavor to walk with in His ways. (John 3:27; 1 Corinthians 4:7; James 1:17; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
Do we take salvation and ongoing heavenly communion for granted? How do we respond to God’s loving tests of our devotion? Do we chafe at conviction that redirects and corrects, or respond to His warnings with renewed adoration? Ongoing thankfulness and appreciation are supreme attitude adjusters that honor Him.
Lord, keep my heart always praising, fearing, loving, and obeying You as the only One worthy.
As the rain and snow 