Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me. (Psalm 57:1-2)
There are storms. There are times of peril. There are many days when we pay the cost of a bad choice. There are years spent struggling with evil. There are seasons of grief. There are hours of agony.
In need we seem especially to turn toward God. We seek God's mercy: the Hebrew suggests God bending down toward us. We seek a place of refuge: it can also mean a place of hope and trust. We seek - or should seek - to know God's purpose for us.
To what end does God intend us? How will we be completed? What will make us whole? In working earnestly to answer these questions we are most likely to share in God's purpose. In God's purpose we are most likely to find a place of abiding hope and trust.
There are also sunny and pleasant days. Flowers grow. Birds sing. A loved one returns. A fine day of work is completed. A child, a spouse, or a friend pauses to listen. A wonderful meal is shared with friends. There is satisfaction. There is celebration. There is love. There is purpose fulfilled.
God is surely with us in all that we do. The greater issue may be whether we choose to acknowledge - and honor - the presence of God.
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Psalm 65: 9-13)
There are storms. There are times of peril. There are many days when we pay the cost of a bad choice. There are years spent struggling with evil. There are seasons of grief. There are hours of agony.
In need we seem especially to turn toward God. We seek God's mercy: the Hebrew suggests God bending down toward us. We seek a place of refuge: it can also mean a place of hope and trust. We seek - or should seek - to know God's purpose for us.
To what end does God intend us? How will we be completed? What will make us whole? In working earnestly to answer these questions we are most likely to share in God's purpose. In God's purpose we are most likely to find a place of abiding hope and trust.
There are also sunny and pleasant days. Flowers grow. Birds sing. A loved one returns. A fine day of work is completed. A child, a spouse, or a friend pauses to listen. A wonderful meal is shared with friends. There is satisfaction. There is celebration. There is love. There is purpose fulfilled.
God is surely with us in all that we do. The greater issue may be whether we choose to acknowledge - and honor - the presence of God.
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Psalm 65: 9-13)
posted by Didymus | 4:49 AM
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