Jer. 4:9-10, 19-28
Rom. 2:12-24
John 5:19-29
Psalm 71
1In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.
7I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all day long.
9Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life consult together.
11They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.”
12O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
13Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.
15My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.
16I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD, I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power
19and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
20You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
21You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.
22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have rescued.
24All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help, for those who tried to do me harm have been put to shame, and disgraced.
Have you ever noticed that many of the psalms that start out as a cry for help turn into a song of praise? Ps. 71, today, is a good example. The psalmist begs for rescue and then his thoughts turn to the truth that the Lord is the One “I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.”
I know I can relate to this experience. When I let myself look around at the worrisome things in the world then I am tempted to think it is in the “grasp of the unjust and cruel”. When I stop and sit down and listen to God, however, I am reminded that truly God is “my strong refuge.” I remember that all through my life, God has led me forward step by step from a shy teen barely able to stutter through a report to a confident woman able to teach adults.
If it’s finances that have me fretting—I need to recall the times when God provided just the right amount to pay bills.If it is a health issue, I can bring to mind times when prayers for healing have been answered.
If it’s danger, I need to recall that I am held safe in God’s hands.
If things aren’t going the way I think they should, well, I need to remind myself that God is in control, not me.
The psalmist says, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” In thinking back over my life, I know that this is true for me, too. God has indeed taught me to trust and has been faithful to meet every need.
Just like a parent, God guides us gently forward. First with baby steps and “milk”, as Paul says. (I Cor. 3:2) Later on, the “meat” of faith is given to us.
Have you ever felt that you were alone against the world? Are you able to remember times when God helped you through troubles? Did God provide ‘milk’ or ‘meat’ for you? The poem Broken Toys is an image of what we often do in our relationship with God:
As children bring their broken toys,
With tears for us to mend;
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because he was my friend.
But then instead of leaving him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help, with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried
"How could you be so slow?"
"My child," He said, "What could I do?
You never did let go..."
For your journal: Look back over your life. Write down spiritual stepping stones along the way. These are the times you were aware, either at the time or later, that God was present and active in your life. These may not be grand experiences of the Holy Spirit (although they might be). If you are having trouble, block your life out in 5 or 10 year segments and think about this time frame and then move on to the next.
Some of my stepping stones are:
The Bible story books I read as a child.
Courage during changes in my life, knowing I felt the presence of God.
Times when God supplied just the right amount of money to pay bills.
Employment when needed and the realization the each job was the right one at the right time.
