personal change | I love the Psalms

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Asaph, children of Israel, comfortable, comfortable gospel, God's anger, Jesus, personal change, Psalms, the LORD

Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Listen to today’s reading by Jonathan Dent:

Reading: Psalm 78:40-49(NIV)*

How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
    and grieved him in the wasteland!
Again and again they put God to the test;
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
They did not remember his power—
    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,
    his wonders in the region of Zoan.
He turned their river into blood;
    they could not drink from their streams.
He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
    and frogs that devastated them.
He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
    their produce to the locust.
He destroyed their vines with hail
    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
He gave over their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock to bolts of lightning.
He unleashed against them his hot anger,
    his wrath, indignation and hostility—
    a band of destroying angels.

Reflection

There are several things I would like to believe. I would like to believe God never gets angry, His patience is everlasting, and that there is no such thing as the wrath of God. I would like to believe Jesus never raised his voice in anger—that he winks at my sins, as though they were no big deal, and then moves on. I would like to believe there is no hell, no burning lake of fire, and no Satan to deceive me.

I would like to believe these things, but I would be wrong. I would be putting myself above the authority of the word of God, which says such things are so. Today’s reading from Psalm 78 reminds us God’s wrath is real, and I don’t want to find myself on the receiving end of it, as was the case with the Egyptians. He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility—a band of destroying angels.

I confess I am tempted to believe in a comfortable gospel, because a comfortable gospel doesn’t call me to account and demand that I change. The Jesus of the comfortable gospel doesn’t demand I sell all and follow him. The Jesus of the comfortable gospel promises me prosperity and self-actualization. I can become what I want, rather than what he wants. The comfortable gospel leaves me as I am—like a pig in a mud wallow. But somehow, Lord, I believe you want more from me. You want my life—my changed life.

Response

LORD God, I believe in your wrath because you are grieved at the hate and harm we generate in this world. Jesus, I want to hear you calling and follow you to the place of deep personal change. Amen.

Your Turn

What kind of gospel do you believe in? Does it require personal change?

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Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look, click here.