Today’s Readings: Psalm 62; Lamentations 2:17-22; John 11:55-12:8; Hebrews 2:10-18; Psalm 42
Featured Reading: Psalm 42
One of the most challenging aspects of being a pastor is that you occasionally run across folks who get more than their fair share of hardships in life - people whose lives seem to consist of a seemingly endless string of hardships, one after the other. While most of these folks I’ve run into in this situation do an amazing job of handling their string of challenges, their situations often take me into a place of complete frustration as I find myself crying out to God about the terrible injustice on their behalf. Today’s second psalm is a helpful psalm for me to read at such times of frustration because it quiets my cry by reminding me of a simple – yet essential – truth of our faith: God never promised that challenging things wouldn’t happen to us as people of faith; instead, God promised that God’s love would be with us each step of the way. I was reminded of this as I read the psalmist’s words: “The God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God’s prayer” (Psalm 42:8 from The Message). Perhaps today you are living in a period of gut-wrenching challenge. In the midst of that challenge, I would encourage you to slow down and listen for the strains of God’s life-sustaining melody that will carry you through the night into the dawn of a new day. I would also encourage you to draw strength from the psalmist’s assurance that your life is more than a string of difficult events – your life is nothing less than God’s prayer! Til next time…
Featured Reading: Psalm 42
One of the most challenging aspects of being a pastor is that you occasionally run across folks who get more than their fair share of hardships in life - people whose lives seem to consist of a seemingly endless string of hardships, one after the other. While most of these folks I’ve run into in this situation do an amazing job of handling their string of challenges, their situations often take me into a place of complete frustration as I find myself crying out to God about the terrible injustice on their behalf. Today’s second psalm is a helpful psalm for me to read at such times of frustration because it quiets my cry by reminding me of a simple – yet essential – truth of our faith: God never promised that challenging things wouldn’t happen to us as people of faith; instead, God promised that God’s love would be with us each step of the way. I was reminded of this as I read the psalmist’s words: “The God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night! My life is God’s prayer” (Psalm 42:8 from The Message). Perhaps today you are living in a period of gut-wrenching challenge. In the midst of that challenge, I would encourage you to slow down and listen for the strains of God’s life-sustaining melody that will carry you through the night into the dawn of a new day. I would also encourage you to draw strength from the psalmist’s assurance that your life is more than a string of difficult events – your life is nothing less than God’s prayer! Til next time…
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