As we rejoice in who God is and remember what He has done, it should often call us to repent of the sins we have committed. Many of our personal struggles could be avoided if we would just listen to God.
Psalm 81
81 Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Rejoice [Ps. 81:1-3]
- A true worshiper grasps how good God is and simply can’t contain his or her worship.
God is far more worthy than what arms-crossed, lips-closed worship attendance offers Him.
Remember [Ps. 81:4-7]
- Experiencing a habit of worship never precedes a resolve to worship
. You can rid yourself of apathetic worship once you remember how God has delivered you.
Remove [Ps. 81:8-10]
- Don’t allow the allurement of a potential god to linger in your presence.
- Our emptiness was so deep, only the LORD could fill
Repent [Ps. 81:11-16]
- God eventually gives continually rebellious sinners over to their stubborn hearts.
- The only path that is not littered with regret
Next Step: What has God told you to do already, and you have yet to obey it?
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.