Psalm 78:32-33 - August 10, 2009

Ps 78:32-33 “In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. 33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.” NIV

How much is enough before we believe the Lord and begin to walk in faith? God calls us to rise up in faith for our good as well as for the sake of His purposes. He is not just trying to make things difficult! He has given us His word as the primary revelation of who He is and His mighty acts as a confirming witness to establish confidence within our hearts to follow after His ways and to keep His commands. The children of Israel saw the most powerful of God’s recorded works during their exodus from Egypt and the wilderness years; waters parting, ten plagues upon Egypt, the plundered wealth of Egypt in their possession, a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them, water from a rock, bread from heaven, shoes that didn’t wear out, supernatural manifestations on the mountaintops and more, yet they habitually responded in unbelief and withdrew from God’s commands in fear of the obstacles that stood in front of them.
One of the great sins of man is his tendency to forget all that God has done. We are given the scriptures to remind us of God’s mighty acts because of this very thing. Faith comes from keeping these things fresh in our hearts. It is when their memory becomes stagnant in our hearts that we tend to lose sight of faith as well. In the record of Israel’s journey they were incredibly short sighted in their ability to carry the deeds of God in their past forward to become faith for their future and it resulted in a great negative consequence in their lives.
We must understand that lack of faith is not just about disappointing God. Many people relate to disobedience simply from the perspective of letting God down again or failing Him in regard to obedience as if He was the only one affected by our doubt and disobedience, as if to say “Well, He is God and He will be able to deal with these areas another way.” It is essential that we understand that we too are affected by our unbelief and the sinful disobedience that it results in. The testimony of Psalm 78:32-33 is striking in its directness concerning the impact of unbelief upon the future of the people of God. Their sinful unbelief resulted in the forfeit of what God had intended for them. The promises that God desired for them were deferred until another generation and what could have been their joyful experience was lost forever. The phrase in verse 33 is particularly confronting when it says, “they ended their days
in futility…”
The plans that God has to bless you are hinged upon your faith and obedience and when you shrink back in sinful unbelief, yes you are stilled loved, but many things that were prepared for you are forfeited by the disobedience that flows out of unbelief. The children of Israel shrank back in fear and unbelief from the command to take the land and as a result they were passed by for another generation and instead of rising up to fight in faith they spent their years wandering instead. How much potential is wasted in fear and unbelief? How many times has a plan of God to bless been sidetracked by someone who could only see the obstacles and not the opportunities? Unbelief is a dream killer. It paralyzes your future. We must fill our hearts with the vision of what God has done and believe what He has promised He will do they throw off our fear of failure to face the battle that awaits us. Don’t spend your days in futility trying to find an alternative plan to the one that God has presented to you. Rise up today in the power of faith and confront the giants in your land! God will give you the victory!