Relentless Love, Relented Anger

I found three amazing progressive Psalms this week. Psalm 104 talks about God and creation. Psalm 105 talks about God and Israel formed. Psalm 106 talks about God and Israel's rebellion.
It near the end of this last Psalm where I find encouragement in God's merciful dealings with us, His people.

"Many times he delivered them, but the were bent on rebellion

and they wasted away in their sin.

But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;

for their sake he remembered his covenant

and out of his relentless love he relented his anger."

Oh that we would treasure this relentless love of his, live with thankfullness in this unmerited favor and overflow such character to others whether we feel that it is deserved or not. For that is only when love it truly relentless.

A Scary Place

In reading Psalm 95 this morning my heart was chilled by the time I got to the last verse...
I felt comfortable when I read, "we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care."
Then the stakes rise a little..."Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..."
This is followed by a quick review of how the children of Israel ignored God and did harden their hearts.
By the last verse God declares, "They shall never enter my rest!" What a scary place to be.
Oh Lord, have mercy on me. Don't let me ignore your voice...as a people of your pasture, I will listen, I will obey. Keep my heart soft so that I will enter your rest.

A Moment of Doubt

Sometimes the road is rough. In Psalm 94 David calls them days of trouble. In a moment of doubt, this morning, I wondered if my prayers weren't getting beyond the ceiling. Then I read:

"Does He who implanted the ear not hear?
Does He who formed the eye not see?"

Cut to the heart of doubt!

I will "tell of His love in the morning and His faithfulness at night." Psalm 92:2

A Restored Friendship

This is beautiful...Webster's definition of the word reconcile is "to restore a friendship after an estrangement."
We are estranged from our God because of our drive for independence. We walked away...He walked towards.
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross...to present us holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Colossians 1: 19, 20, 22)
Winnie the Pooh captures it poignantly when he tells Christopher Robin, "You're just in time for the best part of the day, the part when you and me become we."
Oh the joy of being "we" with my God.