Psalm 48

Psalms 48:12-14 (ESV)

[12] Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

[13] consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell the next generation

[14] that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.

 

Even as the Psalmist was celebrating the goodness of God, his mind was on the next generation. He challenged his generation to observe well the blessing of God in providing security and strength. He does not say, “Consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may rejoice in how good God is to you.” He says to consider and observe well, “that you may tell the next generation.” It is important that the next generation hear our stories, and the stories of past generations of Christ Followers.

 

Just yesterday my grandson asked me to tell him the story again of how I fell out of a tree when I was a kid. Grandchildren love to hear the stories of former generations. They learn from those stories. The celebrate those stories. What if the stories we began to tell our grandchildren were the stories of our previous encounters with God? What if we told them the stories of how we came to faith, how we struggled, but experienced God in the darkness, how God was faithful to protect us in a dangerous situation. What if the story I told my grandson was the story of how my car was sliding sideways toward a steep canyon, but when I called out in Jesus name my car straightened out on that icy road and God saved me. What if the story I told my grandson was the story of how I sensed God’s call to ministry at a young age when I was hearing the story of a missionary who went before me? What if those were the stories we told our children and grandchildren? How might that impact their lives for good?

 

But maybe the reason that we don’t tell those stories is because we fail to consider them ourselves. We fail to “walk about Zion” recognizing how God has blessed. We fail to reflect on how God has directed our lives. We fail to consider the very things we should be celebrating and the stories we should be telling our grandchildren. When we fail to recognize God’s hand as active in our lives, we pass on to following generations a powerless and disengaged God who is out there somewhere. But when we consider how God has blessed us, when we consider how God has protected us, when we consider how God has guided our steps and led our way even when we were not aware of his leading, when we consider God’s active participation in our lives, then we have stories to tell.

 

Today, take a walk around Zion. Take some time to reflect on how God has been engaged in your life. Consider the stories you might tell your grandchildren to build their faith. We don’t need to exaggerate. We don’t need to make stories up. If you are a Christ Follower, then God has been active in your life even before you realized it. Reflect on that, and begin telling those stories to the next generation, “that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” You might just light a fire in a young heart for following Christ.