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Your Story Isn't Over

Your Story Isn’t Over

Have you ever been sorry when you suffered consequences for something you have done? In that moment the sorrow has to do more with getting caught than for the sin. But your story isn’t over, friend.

This Psalm was written about when God’s people were filled with sorrow that their temple had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The Psalmist is asking God to keep His promise, but God’s people had not kept their end of the promise.

Your Story Isn’t Over When Life Hurts

God’s people felt rejected by God because of their struggle, but it was them who had rejected God.

Psalm 74:1-2

“Why have you rejected us forever, God?

Why does your anger burn

against the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember your congregation,

which you purchased long ago

and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.

Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.”

The Psalmist keeps pointing out that the enemy was destroying “where God met with us.”

Sometimes when we read about the destruction and hardship on God’s people, we feel sad and don’t understand why they had to suffer and maybe think about our own lives and don’t understand why we have to suffer.

Your story isn’t over and God knows the end.

We have the benefit of seeing what happened after this Psalm.

I wrote an article yesterday on Ezra 1-6 and it was when the temple written of here in this Psalm was being rebuilt.

God brought His people back from exile after 70 years and he fulfilled His promise spoken in Jeremiah 29:10

“This is what the LORD says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.”

God’s temple was rebuilt . . . only to one day again be destroyed in AD 70.

Consequences Are An Invitation

When God’s people went astray, He lovingly allowed consequences for their actions to bring them back.

It is when we are sorry for our sin that we are restored, though. Not when we are sorry for our consequences.

God is always faithful to keep His covenantal promises, but if we sin, we will feel rejection. If we do what is right we will be accepted. (Genesis 4:7)

Judgment is Coming

Psalm 75 -76 speak of God’s judgment.

Psalm 75 is about God’s people being thankful for God’s intervention and deliverance from the King of Assyria.

God’s judgment is sure. Sometimes we can feel like it takes too long, but we also as benefactors of God’s grace are grateful God has been patient with us.

Scripture of the Day: Psalm 75:4-7

4 “I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’

I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists!

5 Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens

or speak with such arrogance.’”

6 For no one on earth—from east or west,

or even from the wilderness—

should raise a defiant fist.[a]

7 It is God alone who judges;

he decides who will rise and who will fall.”

As we talked about God’s judgment yesterday in our Bible reading plan in the book of Ezekiel, we are reminded in this Psalm that God is still the judge and He is still on His throne.

We can feel like we can have no effect on what is happening now, but each one of us can live out our faith and choose to obey God.

God will judge nations but God will also judge every soul.

Commentary

According to the Easy English Bible Commentary, Psalm 76 is about

“Sennacherib who was the King of Assyria. Assyria was a very strong country to the north and east of Judah. About 700 years before Jesus came to the earth, Sennacherib attacked Judah. But God fought for Judah. Sennacherib did not win the war. Many of his soldiers died. The story is in Isaiah chapters 36 and 37; and also in 2 Kings 18 and 19.

Psalm 76 (like 46, 47, 48 and 75) is about what happened in this war. It tells us that God did not let the enemy destroy Jerusalem. In the psalm, there are two other names for Jerusalem: Salem and Zion, verse 2. “Salem” means “peace” (or no fighting); Zion is the name of the hill where the Israelites built their temple. The temple was the place where they met to praise God.”

Psalm 76:11-12 leaves us with an important lesson from all of the destruction:

“Make and keep your vows
to the Lord your God;
let all who are around him bring tribute
to the awe-inspiring one.[c]
12 He humbles the spirit of leaders;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.”

Application

  • God is still in control when life is hard.
  • Your story isn’t over. God will redeem it and He knows the end.
  • When we are in a tough spot, God is not finished with us yet.
  • God is still good when we suffer consequences for sin – our sin or someone else’s that impacts our lives.

7-Fold One-Year Bible Reading Plan

Day #186: Psalms 74-76 Scripture of the Day: Psalm 75:4-7

Listen: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Ps.74

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