psalm 107 - relevance for today

Today I read a psalm, 107, and noticed the pattern.  See if you notice it also. 
From verse 1-16 there is this pattern:
1. People are suffering and troubled because of some circumstances
2. The people cry out to God in their distress
3. God saves them because of his great love
4. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!5. For he...lists the work of God

From verse 16-32 there is a pattern of a few events:
1. Poeple do something to turn away from the Lord and sin against him
2. The Lord brings some kind of punishment or distruction on them
3. The people cry out to God in their distress
4. God saves them because of his great love
5. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous works to the children of man

Verses 33-43 tell about how great is the Lord in his saving works toward people who turn to him for help.

Take note of the last verses as a summary:  

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

Some wandered in desert wastes,

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Some were fools through their sinful ways,

Some went down to the sea in ships,

He turns rivers into a desert,

When they are diminished and brought low

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

I'm praying today that I will constantly consider the steadfast love of the Lord and call upon him day after day. May God bless you today.

Psalm 107

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble[a]
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.[b]
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters[c] were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

On Parenting - Lacking Grace

Two days ago I was walking with my daughter in the stroller and I came upon a little boy 3-4 years old throwing sticks in the puddles of water. I smiled at him because of the simple fun he was having. Up ahead about 50 meters a woman, which I understood was his mom, yelled angrily at him "Let's go" and when he didn't immediately follow her, she yelled even more angrily "what are you doing?" And then she said something in Russian and followed by "bye Nikita" and she turned away from him and started walking away.  This kind of parental response is pretty common among Ukrainian parents, and I see it often.
 As I passed them, I bent down to Ellie and told her "I promise I'll never yell at you like that, especially in public" Not 2 seconds later did I realize that my statement was pretty hypocritical, and I would probably never be able to keep that promise. I instantly thought about how many times, in my sleep deprivation, I'd been very angry at her for not letting me sleep because she needed something.

I saw this mom and her kid walking back from the school with the older brother about 20 minutes later and she was still speaking harshly with her kids.  I felt really bad for those boys, and stored this in my memory as a warning for myself.

I asked myself, "what's this mom's deal?"  Why is she lacking so much grace when dealing with her kids? Well, I don't know her, but my guess is that she's lacking the grace herself that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ, therefore she's not able to pour out the grace into her kids.

Consider what Jesus said "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:24

Now don't misunderstand, no one is good by nature, in fact we are actually all evil, and without God the Holy Spirit people are not able to do anything or say anything good at all, because of that evil nature.  Jesus is talking about good people as those who are redeemed and treasure Christ, and evil people, those who treasure other things than Christ.

If it weren't for the redeeming work of Christ in my life I'm sure I'd act no differently toward my kids than this mom did, and maybe even worse! Even now I still see glimpses of the evilness of my own heart in my behavior toward my baby and I shutter at the thought of these moments persisting in my parenting, so I pray to God for his grace and help.

Parenting is hard work, really hard, and there is a great deal of suffering that we go through for our children. But there is a difference between Christian parents, and non-Christian parents.

Consider this verse:
Romans 5:1-5
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this GRACE in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

The key difference is that parents who rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, are also able to rejoice in their sufferings.  This is possible through the grace of God, and produces in the parents a plethora of other things like: joy (the ability to be happy in Christ alone, even when your kids sin against you, or you suffer in some way as a parent), endurance (with kids when they annoy you, or cause you some hardship), character (the ability to stay composed and demonstrate the very character of Christ in crucial moments when your kids need you as an example), hope (that all the sacrifice and work you put into training your kids and teaching them about God and life is worth it), and the ability to stand unashamed before God (because indeed everything we do in obedience to God pleases him, and no matter how the world sees us, God's opinion is the only one that matters).

The simple fact is that grace is given by God, and if not received from God, the parent is not able to bestow real grace upon his child and act rightly before God, neither is he able to teach his child to act rightly before God.

No matter how hard we try to be good parents, it's futile without God's ways and God's grace, because simply good parenting is not enough to help our kids gain the one thing that really matters in life, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

I'm not going to do everything nearly as well as I would like to as a parent, but I have hope that if I turn to God daily to receive grace for my work, and in turn pour this grace out into my kids as I teach them about Christ and life, I know that I will not be ashamed for this obedience before God.

If you're a parent, and times are tough with your kids, and your patience with them is short, turn to God and seek a relationship with him, and then let your relationship with God be reflected in the way you raise your kids. If you don't I assure you that you will stand before God ashamed and regretting that you had not turned to him and helped your kids to do the same.

Consider these words:
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Acts 2:38
"And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Heb 4:16
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Believe in Him, the giver of grace and all good gifts, and He will be your helper in your time of need.

May God bless you.