Embrace the Grind

As we walk through Psalm 95 we come a transition. The transition of the second half of verse 7 and leading into verse 8 is jarring…there is a clash here because we move from the summons to the warning. In verses 7-9 David goes back to Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. The people of Israel saw God move in mighty ways, but they were always prone to grumble. They grumbled against God and against Moses. Meribah was the word for dispute, and Massah was the word for testing. That summed up the wilderness wanderings where the people hardened their hearts—they heard God’s Word, but refused to obey…ultimately it cost them the promised land and they all died in the wilderness and it was their children who crossed over and conquered. They saw the work of God, but tested Him and refused to obey.

In verse 11, God adamantly said, “Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” We could easily think that was for them, but David takes his readers back to the wanderings and 1,000 years later the writer of Hebrews takes his readers back to the wanderings, and 2,000 years after that all three, Moses, David, and the writer of Hebrews take us back to the wanderings.

Let me sum it up—don’t just listen—obey. They heard God’s voice, but refused to obey. Last week I spoke of the availability of God’s Word to this generation…don’t just listen to it obey it!

Then, don’t test God—trust God. That’s the message of verse 9. Let me give you a quick run-down of what the people of Israel saw…

They plundered the Egyptians as they left,

God split the Red Sea and they passed on dry ground while God wiped out the army pursuing them,

they came to Marah and couldn’t drink the water—they grumbled against Moses and God cleaned the water and they drank,

they grumbled about bread and God gave them manna,

and then in chapter 17 they again grumbled about the lack of water…God had just provided and He did it again and again…this time by having Moses strike a rock and water flowed. Trust God—don’t test God.

Then, from that let me say, don’t grumble—embrace the grind. I first heard that phrase from Ray Lewis, a LB in the NFL…embrace the grind…it won’t always be easy, but God is using the hard times to shape you and mold you. The hard times make you more like Jesus! Embrace the grind!

Don’t whine—worship. The people of Israel were professional whiners…they cried and grumbled and whined against God and Moses over and over again. Every time I think, “Why does God put up with them?” I am reminded, He puts up with us! Don’t be like that…when difficult times come worship. Grow through it and remember what we said in verses 1-7—rejoice. You do that by getting to know God, by knowing His ways, and by avoiding His wrath through obedience.

Are you worshipping or whining right now? Turn the whine into worship…you won’t always feel like it, but our feeling has nothing to do with our call to worship. Worship through the hard times, worship through the valleys, and trust Him.