DAY 24,
Read Psalm 78:40-55;
Key Verses: “They did not remember His power; the day when He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan” (Verses 42-43).
In many Psalms, the writers took time to rehearse the acts of the mighty hand of God in Egypt. In doing so, they made sure that they pointed out the failings and shortcomings of the children of Israel in the wilderness. Our text for today is one of such Psalms where the failings of the children of Israel were highlighted. The failure of the Israelites was that they forgot the past deeds of God. “They did not remember his power, the day when he redeemed them from the enemy, when he worked his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan.”
Is it not strange that Israel forgot the great deliverance which God wrought for them in Egypt? Because human memory is short, God told the children of Israel to keep memorials that were to serve as constant reminders of God’s dealings with them. He also told them to consciously tell their children about the acts of God. Despite all these we are told they forgot his power. We all have the tendency of making the same blunder which Israel made. One time or the other, we all have forgotten the miracles, the deeds and faithfulness of the Lord in our lives. Remembering the deeds and acts of the Lord is so essential because they help us to stay on track. They help to appreciate God and to remember his faithfulness towards us. They help us to appreciate God and make us to be thankful to him.
Unless we deliberately keep records of events to preserve our spiritual legacy we may end up forgetting God’s past deeds like Israel did. We have just completed a tour of the holy sites in Israel. During the tour we visited Capernaum where Jesus Christ made his home base after he was rejected at Nazareth (Mk.2:1). Capernaum was where most of Jesus’ miracles took place, yet it ended up being condemned by God. Jesus healed the paralytic here (Mk.2:1-12). He also healed Peter’s mother and Jarius’ daughter in this same place. Unfortunately, the same city that witnessed the miracles of Jesus was later severely condemned by him because they rejected the gospel (Mt.11:23-24; Lk.10:15). After the condemnation of Capernaum by Jesus, there are few traces of this city in existence today.
What are the major landmarks and milestones in your life that need to be preserved? What spiritual traditions and testimonies of victories have you deliberately passed down to your children and family? Remember what God has done for you and keep it alive! You never can say how your testimony would inspire succeeding generations to seek after God to repeat what he did in the past.
PRAYER: Help me Lord, never to forget the testimonies of your wonders and deliverances in my life.
