Vision Check-Up

Text: Psalm 145

Isn't it striking that some of the most outrageous complaints about God's apparent silence originated from the same heart which expresses some of the most compelling calls to praise for God's gracious interventions? Such were the life and experiences of David; such can ours be as well.

The past couple of entries here have drawn attention to the character of God more than to the power of God--because that is the focus of the psalms we have read. Today's echoes yet again the value of taking note of how God has provided what is needful in our lives. By telling whomever will listen the stories of how God has continually proven faithful, David is clearing his own occasionally clouded vision and assisting them to do the same.

It is insufficient to voice one's praise to God alone. V. 4 has a time tested yet simple principle: "Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts." (NLT) There's something about stories being told of one's own childhood that captures the imagination and fascination of our children and grandchildren; it is rare that there is not a request for more when this happens. Children want to know not just any stories, but those which in some small way tell them who we are, and by consequence who they are. When that story is centered in God's working in our lives, on our behalf, and in the larger world, we accomplish something important.

We learn all over again, even in the telling, that when all of life is considered, God has indeed proven faithful. We learn that setbacks, even tragedies that occur in this world, have not separated us from the love of God (see Rom. 8:31ff.), and that staying the course through these events has proven far better than any alternative we could have taken. And we teach another generation to use the lenses of Scripture's God to make sense of their own place in the world, so that they might look for His appearances and tell the next generation as well. Surely the litany of God's loving actions (vv. 8-20) will resonate with those who know where to find Him because His story has been told, and we have learned to tell ours in its light.