History – we cannot erase it. It is important to know it, look back at it, remember it, and learn from it. We need to let history change us into the people God has always meant for us to be. The past surely shapes where we are today, and where we will go. It affects the choices we will make.
In reading Psalm 106, it was verses 13-15 which had my attention:
“They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.“ (NKJV)
Doubt causes us to forget the many acts God has done. It looks at the present situation and sees lack, or what God is not yet doing. It does not view the present as being filled with the possibilities of God. And that will lead us into rebellion which brings “leanness of soul”.
Leanness of soul – When our faith begins to shrivel because we have not continued to believe and be faithful.
This entire chapter of Psalm 106 answers the questions on unbelief. Doubt leads us away from God when we begin to think God will not respond and take things into our own hands. We need to remember this chapter and patiently wait on Him, and continue to wait on Him.
This reading brought another Scripture to mind:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23, NIV)
One of the posts shared last week encouraged reading verse 24 along with verse 23:
“and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
The author then went on to say:
“Notice the conjunction “and” connecting the thoughts in verse 23 to the thoughts in verse 24. Yes, we are sinners and fall short of God’s glory. And we are justified by grace, a gift through the redemption provided in Jesus.
Sinners and justified.
Fall short and given grace.
Under penalty and redeemed.”
(from 4 Familiar Scriptures and Truths We Often Miss by Karen Girl Friday)
We need to remember who we are in Christ, and to Whom we belong. He is continuously at work in our lives, in our families, and in our world. We must not doubt but trust Him for all of our days.
May we not doubt God but
remember all the Lord has done in our lives.
It’s the way to avoid leanness in our souls.
This week the post I am sharing is quoted above. If you have not read Karen’s post yet, it is worth the time to pause and read.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Joanne I love your following statement;
“We need to remember who we are in Christ, and to Whom we belong. He is continuously at work in our lives, in our families, and in our world. We must not doubt but trust Him for all of our days.” Amen!
Blessings sweet friend, Jennifer
Joanne, I read this post with conviction because my orientation to time is always towards the future. I need to spend more time with my history and the lessons it wants to teach me.
That leanness of soul is a scary result of our lack of passion for the things of God. What a scary downhill slope that ends up being. Thank God for the powerful truth of His Word.
Thank you for this encouragement to “wait patiently” for Him, Joanne, and to refuse all doubt and unbelief of His character. He is Faithful and True.
Excellent piece, Joanne. I’ve written about Psalm 106 before and refer back to it from time to time. The words, “They soon forgot” are sobering and a reminder to us to never forget God or His works in our lives.
That verse stopped me in my tracks the first time I comprehended it. It’s scary to think that we can be so insistent on our own will that God will finally let us have our way, to our detriment. It’s good to back up to the first part and remind ourselves to remember His works and wait upon His counsel.
Great thoughts, Joanne, God desires we “remember” His acts of old, so that we can dwell on His faithfulness, and more firmly trust Him for any uncertainty we face.
This, “Doubt causes us to forget the many acts God has done. It looks at the present situation and sees lack, or what God is not yet doing. ” has been so true in my life, as I recently walked through a time of deep doubt, this is exactly where I landed, and how I re-focused!
Thank you, my friend, for your faithfulness!
“Leanness of soul.” What a horrific image that raises in my mind and a condition I want to avoid at all cost!
“But he sent leanness in their soul.” You’ve got me pondering that, Joanne! I will be researching the word “leanness” for it’s origin now, for sure! Trusting God fills our souls with the hope we have through His continual goodness.
I love the photo’s quote. Thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry.
Have always been a great student of history Ms. Joanne, as from it, we can avoid many pitfalls in life. From it, we can also learn what to do as much as what not to do.
Yes, God will eventually give us over to ourselves. And we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves for grieving the Holy Spirit to that point.
Always enjoy your posts ma’am. Thank you and God’s blessings.
Joanne, your introduction verse made me stop Short. And struck me. I sat and reread it several times taking it in before I continued reading. I’m so glad you spoke of this today, it needed said and I’m glad you said it. Your words encourage today.