Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; on you I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies and your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old. Psalm 24.5-6 (NKJV) The Psalmists went through some pretty treacherous times, and they documented them willingly. But in each Psalm, no matter how difficult the picture is that they paint of their lives, they are singing to God of how good and faithful God remains. If you were to write a song to God right now (ignoring musical capabilities, rhymes, rhythm or anything else that goes into the complicated mix of songwriting), what would you say? What would you focus on? What would you sing about? What would you want to repeat again and again in a chorus until you feel the truth of it in your bones?
We sing God's praises, we sing a new song, we sing day by day. Maybe, like the Psalmists, we can use these difficult times to sing from our home fortresses too. To sing that God is the God of our salvation. To use these precious moments to seek God's truth for us today. I love the second half of this verse: God didn't spring up when tough times started: God's tender mercy and lovingkindness is of old! They've been here forever, and will continue to be so. Whether we're sat here content, or on our knees with broken spirits and tearful emotions, let us know that God hasn't changed. Let us sing new songs as we pray to God to be here with us, new yet the same each and every morning. Stay safe, and take care!
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I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91.2 (ESV) I love the Bible (as you can probably guess from my insistence on writing blog posts based on it...)! But I am very aware that the Bible is often ambiguous, confusing and messy. God's interactions with messy human life probably couldn't not be messy! But it is clear - again and again - on what God cares about. God cares about what goes on here on earth, this little planet in a humongous universe. God cares about animals, and plants, and weather cycles! God cares about life. On top of that, God cares about goodness, peace, joy, love. Again and again through the Bible, we see characters whose lives are sometimes good and sometimes bad, and sometimes how they see God working in those times is questionable, but how God actually remains, is steadfast - a safe haven, a place to run to, a person to sit with, a companion to grow in the presence of.
I took the photo I used in the above illustration in the Peak District in Derbyshire. Every November, for more years than I've been here, my church has been going on a retreat here. We spend the weekend living in log cabins together, worshipping, reading the Bible, and walking in the countryside. And it is some seriously stunning countryside. And every year so far, God has been revealed to me in some new way, when I run into the refuge and fortress of God, away from all the pressures, stresses, normal, boring stuff of everyday life. I wonder if we can create some of those refuge and fortress spaces in our present habitations? Can you mark out a space and some time, where nothing else can press on you, and you can just know who God is for you, right now? Because God is definitely for you. God is your refuge and your fortress. In whom do you trust? Stay safe, and take care! [Daniel, to Goliath:] You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you curse and mock. 1 Samuel 17.45 It doesn't take a giant to kill a giant! I remember back when we actually went to church, one of the girls (age 5-6) would repeatedly ask me for the story of David and Goliath. I'd try and convince her to have a different one sometimes, but we'd always come back to this tale at some point! She clearly passed that love on to her little brother too, whose dad asked him why he loves the story so much this week. And with an innocent look and a smile on his face, he answered, "because tiny David killed the giant Goliath!"
With kids, good and bad is so easy! If the good one kills the bad one, it's happy days! I remember when I lived with a family a couple of years ago, and we were watching The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for film night, and when it got to the ending fight scene, the 4-year-old girl saw Aslan's army go charging off and was shouting, "Yes, go, go, go, kill the witch," like she was in some 16th century witch-hunt!!! It's not so easy now. Did Goliath want to fight for the Philistines, or was he forced because of his great size? Why was this war happening anyway? Who had started it (if it's ever that simple...)? I'm not a fan of violence, in any form, and this tale has lots of it! But there are times when I have felt like what I was up against was bigger than I could overcome. Like I'm tiny David against the giant Goliath. When I was going through my times of disordered eating and struggling with anorexia, it has felt like a giant standing between me and the way to being healthy again. And those times certainly felt like a fight. A fight it was often easier not to fight, like the Israelites, cowering and shaking in their tents, not putting anyone forward, hoping it would all just be fine in the end, even if they didn't actually do anything. They could take the mocking and the shame, the humiliation - but they weren't willing to take the pain of trying to fight and losing. And each time I've felt like I was in the hands of anorexia (those giant hands coming out forwards out of my illustration), I am convinced that I have only survived because I finally let God come and fight it for me. God is the reason tiny David killed the giant Goliath. And God is the reason we can overcome things that are far too big for us to overcome on our own! If you feel like you're up against something way bigger than you can overcome, remember today that it doesn't take a giant to kill a giant. God is there, waiting for you to let God in and transform the possibilities! Stay safe, and take care! So teach us to number our days, That we may get a heart of wisdom. Do return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90.12-14 (ESV) Does God care how we spend our time? I guess we're confronted with that question a little more now (at least those of us stuck at home without our usual work to do). But even those still needed for work at the moment might be confronted with the issue of whether it is worth it, when life can be so fleeting - especially for those who've been in hospital and have been scared of losing their lives. What are the things that make life worth living and time worth having? And how much of our lives do we actually spend on those things?
Ellen White, the 19th Century church-founder, who lived from 1827-1915, wrote that: 'The value of time is beyond computation. Christ regarded every moment as precious, and it is thus that we should regard it.' ~ Ellen G. White, Be Like Jesus, p.78 Time is something we all have, but that we all prioritise differently. It's often hard to say what is the right way and wrong way to gather and use our time. There are enough good things to do that you could fill a thousand lifetimes with them! But we have to be selective. Consider mapping out all the things you spend time on, and reflecting on the things you want to spend more time doing. If there's some aspect of your work or busyness that can be streamlined, try it. And give the remaining time to something important - to building lasting relationships with your family and friends, or reconnecting with God who gives peace and reveals truth. If you have any successes, let me know, because this is something I massively struggle with! I always have so much that I want to do, and often have to stop myself and reconfigure my daily time to make carve out space for the seemingly non-productive things that make me human and connect me with my God. Stay safe everyone, and take care! May my prayer be set before you like incense... Psalm 141.2a (BSB) So many people are lifting up prayers to God, so many people talking about God, so many people sharing something of God's steadfast loving kindness with their neighbours, with their family, and with those who are hurting. And I am convinced, that as our prayers are lifting up to God, God sees them (all smells them if they truly are like incense!), and God acts.
Whatever comes from all this, I pray and hope that it will be a world more aware of the effect we as humans have on each other and have on our planet. I pray and hope that we'll be more conscious of what we are giving our time to. And I pray and hope that those of us who know God's unfailing love will be more courageous to share it with others. Please God, act for good here. Stay safe, and take care! |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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