Psalm 106:12-14
Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.  They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

We are so fickle sometimes.  It seems like nothing can hold our interest or attention for long nowadays.  One thing happens, but we’re quickly on to the next.  We can’t focus too much on one thing without being distracted by something else.  And though today’s modern world offers a myriad of things to grab our attention, this kind of attitude isn’t something new.  Ancient Israel had experienced something truly amazing.  They had seen wonders before their very eyes they couldn’t have imagined.  They had witnessed God’s power come to earth in a way it hadn’t been demonstrated before.

And for a time, they praised God.  For a time, they believed Him and sought Him.  For a time, their hearts were tuned to Him, waiting with expectation for what was next.  For a time, they would follow.  For a time, they would obey.  But that didn’t last.  They soon forgot what He’d done.  It had gotten old to them and stale, and they wanted something else, something new, and they weren’t willing to wait for it to come, but sought it out apart from Him.  Their circumstances changed, and some trials came, and suddenly God wasn’t enough anymore.

And the lesson here for us is we can’t stop singing.  We can’t let our praises be so short-lived.  We can’t let our faith change with our circumstances.  We can’t let those changes that come change our relationship with God.  He is sure and steady, always faithful, always true.  And we have that to depend on.  But if we aren’t purposely focusing on Him, we forget.  If we aren’t remembering to praise Him, we’ll let those memories of His goodness slip out of our minds.  If we stop listening, we’ll stop hearing Him.  And if we let our minds and our hearts be pulled from Him, we’ll start turning to other things instead.

Those fads that we chase, those bandwagons we jump on, those things we obsess over all eventually fade, and something else comes to take their place.  But may the things God is doing in and around us never get old.  May we never lose our wonder that a holy God would love us and rescue us and want to have a relationship with us.  Let’s keep Him as our focus and refuse to be distracted.  Let’s make praising God a habit in our lives, something we do in the desert, in the wilderness, and in the promised land, for He is always worthy to be praised.  And let’s sing just as loud in those barren places as we did when He first set us free.