"Because He Takes Care of Us"

"And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: and gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD." (Psalms 105:43-45)
Closing out another year, it is always good to mark the things that you want to bring into the new year, and to strike out those things that you don't. But whatever you do, don't let your first slipup be the excuse to slipup again! As simple as it is to understand what we must do, there is no getting around the fact that it is hard to do; we are completely and unconditionally dependent upon God to do anything that even comes close to what He wants us to do; and even then, we will still find a way to mess it up. If there was a way that we could have kept His law, then Jesus would not have had to come and pay the price for our sins. All that God does for us, He does because He loves us so much! We could never repay Him, nor does He expect us to. He does what He does to show us His great love for us, that we might at least be thankful and try and listen to what He might ask us to do. The bottom line to the choice we have before us, is what is the life we want to live out here: we can live a life filled with power and joy, that is based on the fact that we will at least make an effort to do what He says; or we can live a life of weakness and disappointment, that is the result of not even trying to listen. We observe His statutes and keep His laws because we know that He takes care of us; it's what all good children do for their parents, they obey what they say because they live under their roof, being fed and clothed and looked after; why would it be any different with how we respect God? That is pretty much the reason for the 'hallelujah' at the end of this Psalm, because He continues to do for us, more than we deserve, and more than we even ask for! And He does it all because He loves us so much, more than we could ever know or imagine. That is the real rest that God wants for us, that we might rest in His great love for us...
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the age to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace. in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:4-10) KJV