Psalm 136:13-26
Yesterday I wrote about deliverance, couching it also (in lesser terms) as redirection. We see Israel’s deliverance in Ps. 136:10-15,24. From there we see different acts of God with respect to Israel – preservation (Ps. 136:16,22,23,25) and victory / conquest (Ps. 136:17-21). Preservation is best shown in verse 25, …He Who gives food to all flesh… It’s that continuing act of God to provide for our basic needs.
Victory/conquest is something very different from deliverance or preservation. We see it in Israel in their defeat of the kings in the wilderness (Sihon, Og, etc.), then in their conquest of other nations and tribes in their taking the Promised Land. In our present day we are not in the business of conquest, as such, but we do make efforts to move forward from our present, everyday state. We work toward bonuses and salary increases, advances and promotions, entrepreneurial gains, and, eventually, retirement. On another level we also “work” toward family and church advances and improvements, in addition to growing in our own spiritual walk.
But for those “work”-related gains that we have seen (or those for which we are still striving), do we see the Lord’s hand in those successes, those “victories”? Do we actively look back to see His work in our lives back then so that we can thank Him for being there for us? I saw major redirections (that were in fact, advances) in both my M.A. thesis and my Ph.D. dissertation – events and ideas that opened up for me for which I cannot take personal credit. Then in my work world I lived with ups and downs – the ups for which I am (was) eternally grateful and the downs for which I saw the Lord’s constant deliverance to better ends. It’s time for us all to start listing out those recent and past victories and advances, looking with new eyes to see God at work in those events. You will be all the more grateful for where you are today if you see His past work in directing you to how you got there!