Today’s Readings: Psalm 56; Genesis 37:25-36; Luke 3:15-22; Acts 17:5-10; Psalm 7
When I was a kid, I remember the way guys on the playground would handle conflict. Of course the first option you had was to take on matters yourself. If that didn’t work – or if the other guy was bigger – your next resort was to involve an older brother. If that didn’t work – or if the other guy’s older brother was bigger than your older brother – your final result was pulling out the big gun: your dad. While such an approach may not have been the most mature, it felt satisfying on some level to know someone always had your back. In some ways, this is the same spirit the psalmist captured in today’s second Psalm. The threat had already presented itself to the psalmist (“If they catch me I’m finished”), and the challenges were admittedly beyond the scope of the psalmist (I’ll be “ripped to shreds by foes as fierce as lions”). So what does the psalmist do? He tries to rouse the big gun: God (“Stand up, God; pit your holy fury against my furious enemies.). The psalmist’s words help me tap into the notion that indeed there is someone who always has your back – someone whose magnitude will never get outsized by the threats and challenges we face in our daily lives. Today as you face some of those challenges, let us give thanks for the presence of the One who always has our backs. Til next time…
When I was a kid, I remember the way guys on the playground would handle conflict. Of course the first option you had was to take on matters yourself. If that didn’t work – or if the other guy was bigger – your next resort was to involve an older brother. If that didn’t work – or if the other guy’s older brother was bigger than your older brother – your final result was pulling out the big gun: your dad. While such an approach may not have been the most mature, it felt satisfying on some level to know someone always had your back. In some ways, this is the same spirit the psalmist captured in today’s second Psalm. The threat had already presented itself to the psalmist (“If they catch me I’m finished”), and the challenges were admittedly beyond the scope of the psalmist (I’ll be “ripped to shreds by foes as fierce as lions”). So what does the psalmist do? He tries to rouse the big gun: God (“Stand up, God; pit your holy fury against my furious enemies.). The psalmist’s words help me tap into the notion that indeed there is someone who always has your back – someone whose magnitude will never get outsized by the threats and challenges we face in our daily lives. Today as you face some of those challenges, let us give thanks for the presence of the One who always has our backs. Til next time…
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