Forget not all His benefits

I’m told that a new way of life is developing in some suburbs of Harare. Since the electricity comes on between midnight and four in the morning, people go to bed early, wake up at midnight to cook, wash and iron, and then go back to sleep again. Some friends of ours, however, haven’t received a single electron for more than three days.

This morning, I was up early taking Matthew to a Saturday athletics meet. I could hardly get out of my driveway there were so many water tankers buzzing around my neighbourhood making water deliveries. Our area hasn’t had a drop of municipal water for ... ten days? I think it’s been about ten days. Actually, I can’t remember. But, hey, we’ve had it easy; some people haven’t had municipal water for years.

Anyway, what with one thing or another, some people I know have had a belly full of it. And from time to time they get that stop-the-world-I-want-to-get-off feeling. I don’t blame them. But our experiences do show that there is truth in Jesus’ statement that “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Our fallen world will never be a place of comfort or safety. And at least our Zimbabwean experience denies us the illusion that life is stable. We are so frail. And our fragile lives depend on so many things that we have absolutely no control over.

It is no wonder that the psalmist wrote:

As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more (Psalm 103:15-16)

However, he then goes on to say:

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (Psalm 103:17-18)

God has an everlasting love for you. His love endures from this life to the next. In fact, without His love, you won’t make it to heaven. Continue to respect and honour God, walking daily in His ways and everything will turn out ok in the end. Yes, you may not have water today, but “forget not all his benefits” (Ps. 103:2). Perhaps you should remind yourself of them by reading Psalm 103. I did, it was like drinking from a mountain stream on a hot day.

Cheers for now - Ian