Craig T. Owens

The Bible often recounts the history of Israel. In one particular psalm the history of the Israelites sounds like one story repeated over and over:

• But they continued to sin against God… (Psalm 78:17)
• In spite of all this, they kept on sinning… (v. 32)
• Their hearts were not loyal to God, they were not faithful to His covenant… (v. 37)
• They put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High… (v. 56)

After experiencing God’s blessing, they fall away from God, experience the pain of punishment, repent of their wickedness, get restored, only to fall away again.

So what’s the use in serving God? In following His ways? In keeping His commands?

God sees indiv1duals, not a mass of humanity.

The culture may have been unfaithful to Him, but God saw ONE who was faithful and obedient. He saw ONE who loved God so deeply—“He choose David His servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep He brought him to be the shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance” (vv. 70, 71).

God saw the ONE man who was consistently faithful and rewarded him. God doesn’t miss a thing! He sees every ONE who keeps his or her heart set on Him. Whether in this life or the next, that ONE will be rewarded by God.

Don’t give in to the everyone’s-doing-it-so-it-must-be-okay mindset. God sees YOU as an indiv1dual, and He longs to reward YOU for your faithfulness to Him.