The Fickle Heart

I read Psalm 106 this morning. It recaps some of the history of the relationship between Israel and God. I could not help but think how the Psalmist captured the fickle heart of Israel. The fickle heart is the one that pursues God for a while and then, slowly, begins to pursue its own desires. The fickle heart "forgets" the goodness of God until it has become so deeply mired in itself that it has nowhere else to turn but to God alone. The Psalmist records for us such phrases as, "they did not remember your kindness...they soon forgot what He had done...they forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt." When life was good for Israel, they became proud and thought that the goodness they were enjoying was the fruit of their own labor, when they were living under the blessing of God all the time. Eventually, God gave them what they asked for (v. 15). I cannot help but see the church as Israel in this Psalm. So often we call out to God in the hardest of times, and sometimes not even then, and forsake Him in the best of times when we should be proclaiming His name. Our heart is fickle. We cast it before whatever is before us. The Psalmist put it this way, "by their deed they prostituted themselves" (v. 39). I wonder what we are mindlessly giving ourselves to as the church sometimes. I am not so naive as to think it is always Jesus, despite what we might say. There is a silver lining to this dark cloud though. In spite of all the times Israel turned her back on God, He remained constant. Over and again we read phrases like this "yet He saved them for His name sake...many times He delivered them...for their sake He remembered His covenant." There in lies the good news. Where man had forsaken the covenant he had made with God, God never forgot the covenant He made with man. The impact that has for the life of man is immeasurable. Let that thought soak in for just a second. In spite of all the things we have done to run away from God, He still pursues us out of deep love for us. This phrase sums it all up and gives us a great definition of God's grace, "out of His great love he relented." He did not give Israel nor us what we deserved based upon our actions. Hallelujah!! He relented. He let off and held off the judgement that was due us. In fact, His son, Jesus, took the Judgement in our place, bearing our sin and shame. I am so thankful this morning for God's great love for me. I hope that you will allow God's love to overflow you and fill you as you read this. I pray that the Holy Spirit will awaken your heart and turn it from fickleness to faithfulness. Remember, God pursues you with a passionate love, a love that never fails. Crash on!