READING: Psalms 43-45, Acts 27:27-44
“God, we have heard with our ears—our ancestors have told us—the work You accomplished in their days.”
Psalm 44:1
Psalm 44 is the cry of God’s people for help when they have suffered some kind of defeat in battle, despite the fact that they had been faithful to Him. The psalmist begins with a recounting of God’s protective care of His people, and it is there that I put the focus of this devotion: “God, we have heard with our ears—our ancestors have told us—the work You accomplished in their days, in days long ago: to plant them, You drove out the nations with Your hand; to settle them, You crushed the peoples” (Psa. 44:1-2). The people of God did not take the land on their own, but only through the power of the God who delivered them.
The psalmist and his generation knew that information because “our ancestors have told us.” One generation told another generation what God had done in the past, apparently wanting their descendants to trust the God who had always been faithful to His own. That process, in fact, is a primary way God intends to get His message to the world. My generation is to tell the next generation, who themselves then tell the following generation.
What I fear is that my generation isn’t doing this task well. Perhaps we seek to live out our faith in front of our children, and perhaps we take our children to church for their training – but too seldom do we sit down and tell them what God has done in our past. Sometimes they don’t even know how God called us to Him and saved us. Our own children may not know about our baptism, about our first taking the Lord’s Supper, about our first Bible, about prayers God has answered. Nor do they know how God came through when we wondered if He even cared; they do not know how to cry out in desperation, “Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping? Get up! Don’t reject us forever!” (Psalm 44:23).
God has done much for each of us, but we’ve kept that “much” to ourselves. Our next generation then misses the opportunity to grow in faith in order to trust Him later when they face their own battles. We need to change that pattern.
ACTION STEPS:
- Regardless of how old your children are, tell them something God is teaching you today.
- If you are grieving over life’s struggles today, cry out to God. He can handle it.
PRAYER: “Father, I want my children and grandchildren to know You well. Help me to tell the next generation.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Psalms 46-48, Acts 28