pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: trust


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Sense It

Reading: Isaiah 17-23

‭Isaiah 22:11 – “But you didn’t trust its maker; you didn’t consider the one who planned it long ago.”

Today’s seven chapters hold the remaining oracles against the nations around Judah as well as against Judah itself. Our readings begin with the fall of Damascus and Ephraim. Their attempt at an anti-Assyrian alliance angered God. In response, God will “harvest armfuls at a time.” God then proclaims, “They will be a wasteland because you forgot the God who saves you, and didn’t remember the rock who shelters you.” There is a sadness that we can feel in God’s voice. We can sense it because at times we too create the same sadness.

The oracles against Cush, Egypt, Babylon, Tyre, and even Judah herself follow. The foreign nations will be cut down and pruned, will be naked and barefoot and humiliated, will be defeated and trampled, will be destroyed and prostituted. The consequences for their sin will be great. Judah too will suffer. Judah and its leaders relied on self instead of on God. When God called for prayer and fasting, there was “fun and frivolity.” God declared, “But you didn’t trust its maker; you didn’t consider the one who planned it long ago.” Again, we can sense the sadness in God’s voice. And, yes, it is so because we too fail to trust in God at times.

We also hear words of hope in today’s reading. At the end of chapter 19 Isaiah speaks of God’s blessing on all who “swear loyalty to the Lord.” God will hear their cries and will “send them a Savior and a defender to rescue them.” In response, the faithful will “worship with sacrifices and offerings, making promises to the Lord and fulfilling them.” We can sense the joy for God in this faithfulness. May we too bring this joy to the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, forgive us when we forget your gifts of salvation and shelter. Forgive us when we try to go it on our own, forgetting the one who created and planned our world and our lives. Remind us and draw us once again to our Savior, defender, friend. Thank you, God. Amen.


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A Healthy Fear

Reading: Proverbs 14

‭Proverbs 14:22 – “Don’t those who plan evil go astray? Those who plan good receive loyalty and faithfulness.”

Today’s key verse summarizes the overarching idea of Proverbs. The goal of Solomon and other sages who contributed to this book was to teach naive young men how to walk faithfully with God. To ignore this wisdom is to turn away from God, to “go astray,” to choose death.

The naive have and will always exist. Therefore Proverbs will be ever relevant. The naive think they know it all but can also fall prey to believing anything. Their sphere of thinking is fairly small, usually centered on self. Common sense is in short supply. All of this can lead to lurching forward in awkward ways. The inward focus can lead to things like “despising” those with needs. With wisdom and maturity brings a thoughtfulness to one’s steps, words, and actions. One begins to see beyond self. Care and concern for others becomes a new reality.

As one gains wisdom and maturity, one also begins to understand the heart. Wisdom brings an understanding of our own heart and of the hearts of others. One grasps and grapples with joy and sorrow, happiness and distress. Empathy develops. We read, “Wisdom resides in an understanding heart.” One moves from considering to prioritizing other over self.

Wisdom eventually leads to a revrent fear of the Lord. This guides one’s choices, words, actions. One chooses integrity over the “crooked path.” One develops a strong confidence and trust in God’s care for us and for our families. Wisdom and a healthy fear of the Lord draws us close to the “fountain of life.” There we are guided to seek a continual walk in God’s will and way. May this be our path and our choice.

Prayer: Lord God, on this journey of life we mature in many ways: physically, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, spiritually. All tend to come with age and experience. We can be a part of the process or we can just go with the flow of life. As your disciples, guide us to engage the process, to invest in our lives, especially in our faith. Rooted deeply in you we find strength, compassion, empathy, love. In you we find meaning and purpose. Draw us deeper and deeper into you, fountain of life. Amen.


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Decisions, Words, Conduct

Readings: Proverbs 10 and 11

‭Proverbs 11:18 – “The wicked earn false wages, but those who sow righteousness receive a true reward.”

Today we begin the middle section of Proverbs. For 13 days we will work our way through chapter 30. These 21 chapters are filled with two-part lines that almost always contrast the good or wise choice with the evil or foolish choice. Although not grouped together in the text, one can find themes within our readings.

One theme today centers on finances. What we do with our money reveals much about our faith. Laziness leads to poverty while hard work leads to riches. We are to give generously though. Stinginess will lead to growing needy. While there is solid earthly advice here, there are also heavenly implications. Riches won’t help on the day of wrath. But righteousness will rescue us. Our decisions matter.

Another theme focuses on how our behavior or choices affect our relationships and our community. When we are hateful, we stir up conflict. When we choose love, offenses are lessened. Virtuous living blessed the community but words of evil destroy it. Along these lines, slander betrays trust whereas keeping confidences builds up the community. Our words matter.

A third theme today touches on the eternal. The wages of the righteous are life and the earnings of the wicked are death. Wisdom leads to humility but pride leads to shame. Walking God’s path is a refuge for the innocent but ruin for those who do evil. If one brings trouble to their family they’ll inherit the wind. But the fruit of righteousness is the “tree of life.” That’s found in heaven. Our conduct matters.

Prayer: Lord God, as we navigate this life, we do so in relationship and in community. Our decisions, our words, our conduct – they all affect our relationship with you and our relationships with each other. By the power of your Holy Spirit, lead and guide us to live faithful, righteous lives, building up the community and the kingdom here on earth. Amen.


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Rescue Us, Bless Us

Readings: Psalms 141-144

‭Psalm 143:1 – “Listen to my prayer, LORD! Because of your faithfulness… Because of your righteousness, answer me!”

Photo credit: Patrick Schneider

Today’s four Psalms all contain pleas for help. They are all cries to God for saving, rescue, deliverance. While the “enemy” takes many forms in these Psalms, as it does in our lives, the constant here is God’s presence, goodness, faithfulness, and righteousness. It is precisely because God is these things that response and rescue is counted on from God.

Beautiful images begin Psalm 141 – prayers lifted like incense wafting up to heaven, hands held high like an offering to God. The psalmist seeks for God to guard their mouth and to keep their heart from evil things. Temptation is ever at the door. It is more than they can handle on their own. The psalmist asks for protection from the traps and snares. May we do so as well.

In Psalm 142 the author is really hard-pressed. They cry out, beg, pour out, and announce their needs. They feel like “no one” pays attention, including God. They desperately need release from “this prison.” A cave is likely the prison in Psalm 143. The psalmist cries out for rescue, not because of his or her own faithfulness or righteousness, but because of God’s. These characteristics of God will bring the psalmist out of their distress and will bring justice to this enemy.

Psalm 144 begins with a wonderful list of the roles God plays in the psalmist’s life and in our lives. It then shifts to the limits of our existence. We are “like puffs of air,” so temporary. And yet the psalmist seeks refuge and deliverance from the enemy. And also, God, grant blessing on our children, in our crops and livestock, and on our safety and security. Even in our own temporal world we too cry out these dual prayers: rescue us, O God, bless us, O Lord!

Prayer: Lord God, today, Lord, today when the enemy rises up, come and rescue us. Be a wall of protection around us, show us the way. May your faithfulness and your righteousness guide our way. Grant us the faith and the trust to lift our prayers in confidence and our hands in surrender to you. Amen.


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Inner Strength

Readings: Psalms 137-140

‭Psalm 138:3 – “On the day I cried out, you answered me. You encouraged me with inner strength.”

Psalms 137 and 138 offer lament and then raise up thanks and trust. These two represent much of what we find in the Psalms and in all of life – highs and lows. In Psalm 137 the psalmist laments a hard experience in exile. Their “tormentors” wanted them to sing a joyful song. How could they sing joyfully in exile? The response, instead, is a plea for Babylon’s (and Edom’s) downfall. In Psalm 138 we see a better choice. The psalmist turns towards Jerusalem and the temple. Here we read, “On the day I cried out, you answered me. You encouraged me with inner strength.” God is faithful. God hears and responds. The Psalm closes with this plea to God: “don’t let go.”

Psalm 139 expresses a deep connection with God. The psalmist recognizes that God knows them inside out. This is at first overwhelming, “too much for me.” There is nowhere the psalmist could go to avoid this overwhelming knowing. Even darkness would be no relief. In verse 13 there is a shift. The psalmist realizes that God knit them together and that God has good plans for them. After a brief dive into hating evil and seeking their destruction, the psalmist returns to self, inviting God to know him or her even more.

Psalm 140 is a plea for protection. For those who plot evil,“spider poison is on their lips.” The psalmist cries out to God for help, hoping for evil’s downfall. In the end, the psalmist knows deep down in his or her heart, “those who do right will live in your presence.” Through all of the highs and lows, for all in between, may this too be our daily choice: to live right, to be in God’s presence.

Prayer: Lord God, through all of life’s ebbs and flows, you are there. Walk with us daily, keeping us from evil and defending us when it arises in our lives. Grow in us a trust in you as our knowledge of you grows in us. Grant us an inner strength in the trials and sufferings, a strength that clings to you. Amen.


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Wait for the Lord…

Readings: Psalms 128-130

‭Psalm 130:6 – “My whole being waits for my Lord — more than the night watch waits for morning; yes, more than the night watch waits for morning!”

Today’s three Psalms form the rest of the “Songs of Ascent.” Now, that’s not to say that Psalm 17 or Psalm 136 couldn’t be sung on one’s way up to Jerusalem. This is so because just like yesterday’s Psalms 120-127 and just like almost any “set” of Psalms, within these three we find cries to God, oppression by the wicked, trust in God to act, and praises for God’s blessings and presence.

Psalm 128 equated being faithful and working hard to having a truly happy life. It offers blessings for a fruitful wife who produces many children, who are like “freshly planted olive trees.” It closes with a hope to “see your grandchildren” – to experience long life, another sign of God’s blessing.

The psalmist cries out for relief in Psalm 129. The enemy has “plowed my back like farmers.” This implies being scourged. Yet God rescued the writer. He or she prays the enemy would be like “grass on the roof” – that they’d experience a very short life because they are evil.

Today’s reading closes with Psalm 130. It is part cry for help, part recognition of God’s great mercy, part encouragement to “wait for the Lord!” The psalmist is in need of forgiveness. They cry out for mercy. They are grateful that “forgiveness is in you” and they acknowledge that without God’s mercy, no one would make it. So they wait eagerly, “More than the night watch waits for morning!” The repetition emphasizes their desperation. The Psalm closes by encouraging Israel to also wait for the Lord. May we do so as well.

Prayer: Lord God, you are so good to us. Your mercy never ends, your grace abounds, your love never fails. You are our guide and our strength, our shield and our defender, our gracious redeemer and our sure hope. Thank you, O Lord our God! Amen.


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Songs of Ascent, Part I

Readings: Psalms 120-127

‭Psalm 122:1 – “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the LORD’s house!'”

Psalms 120-134 are collectively known as the “Songs of Ascent.” Each carries the superscription, “A pilgrimage song.” These songs were likely sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem to participate in one of the three yearly festivals. I wonder which of these Jesus and his followers sang as he rode into the city just before the Passover.

Psalms 120 and 121 are like a call and response. In Psalm 120 the psalmist has been away too long and needs rescue from “lying lips” and those who “hate peace.” Psalm 121 answers with the invite to look to the mountains, to Jerusalem. There you will find your “protector,” the one who “never sleeps or rests.”

Psalms 122 and 123 function in the same way with Psalm 124. Psalm 122 begins with joy over being invited to go up to God’s house, to the city “joined together in unity.” The psalmist turns to God, asking for peace and rest for Jerusalem. Psalm 123 adds a prayer for mercy. They’ll pray attentively until mercy comes. Then Psalm 124 offers encouragement as it recalls God’s rescue and deliverance in the past. The psalmist declares that their help is still in God alone, “the maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 125 continues the theme of trusting in God, who, like Mount Zion, is “never shaken.” The psalmist closes this song with a request of God: do good to the good and banish those evildoers. Psalm 126 is similar in structure – remembering when God rescued them, then asking God to rescue them again. Psalm 127 is a bit like Ecclesiastes. Human effort is “pointless.” But children – and lots of them – are a gift from God!

These songs of ascent, like much of the rest of the Psalms, cover a range of emotions and situations. May we use these prayers too as we find ourselves experiencing joy or sorrow, blessing or suffering, belonging or isolation.

Prayer: Lord God, as some of these Psalms or words within call out to us, write them on the tablets of our hearts. Then, by the power of your Holy Spirit, call them to our minds at just the right time. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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The Initial Journey

Reading: Psalm 119:1-88

‭Psalm 119:32 – “I run the same path as your commandments because you give my heart insight.”

Today and tomorrow we delve into Psalm 119. It is the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses and just over 2,400 words. Although lost in translation, the Psalm’s original structure was amazing. It is an acrostic poem. Each stanza begins with one of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. What’s amazing is that they go in order. What’s really amazing is that in its original form, all eight lines in each stanza all started with that same letter. One last nerdy note: the psalmist used eight different words for the “Law.” This is the focus of Psalm 119.

Alef and Bet begin the Psalm. Their common theme is faith in youth. There is a longing to know God’s ways better. This only comes with time and experience. Gimel and Dalet introduce some lament or suffering. The psalmist’s young faith is “worn out” by studying the Law. Perhaps this feeling arises because challenges have arisen to test their faith. Some are within and some are without. We too experience these situations as we seek to grow in our faith, trust, assurance…

In He and Waw it feels like the psalmist has turned the corner, has gotten through the initial season of testing. The response comes in pleas to help them keep the Law. There is a knowledge that testing will come. Zayin and Khet return to suffering and trial. The psalmist recognizes God’s comfort and mercy. In Tet and Yod the words turn personal. Their maturing faith acknowledges that the suffering was just and that it led them to repentance. The lessons were good for their faith growth. We too learn much in the valleys.

Today’s portion of Psalm 119 closes with Kaf, the 11th letter. The psalmist’s life has returned to a time of testing. They now yearn for God’s help. They ask “How long?” Growth has occurred, though. Instead of the defeated attitude of a young faith, like we see in Gimel and Dalet, there is now a confidence that God will come through again. The psalmist is resolute about walking in faith. May it be so for us as well.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the encouragement and for the reminder that faith is a journey. We do not begin and find ourselves at perfection. Faith is a long and slow and steady walk into a deeper and deeper relationship with you. Give us strength for the journey. Bless us with grace when we stray. Grant us perseverance. Walk with us. Amen.


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Bring Us Home

Readings: Psalms 105-107

‭Psalm 105:4-5 – “Pursue the LORD and his strength; seek his face always! Remember the wondrous works he has done.”

Psalms 105 and 106 close our Book 4 by recounting Israel’s history. The story begins with the covenant and it runs through to the oppression experienced in the Promised Land. Psalm 105 begins with the covenant made with Abraham and carried over to Isaac, Jacob, and Israel. God protected their small number, eventually sending Joseph then the whole family to Egypt, where they became numerous. After oppression there, God sent Moses and Aaron and the ten plagues. God led them out, guiding by cloud, providing food and water. Finally God gave them the Promised Land, a place where they could “keep his law and observe his instructions.”

Psalm 106 gives an accounting of the people’s struggles with obedience. It recounts the rebellions at the sea, at stops in the desert, and at the foot of Sinai, where they made the golden calf. The psalmist highlights Moses’ saving intercession. Then the psalmist speaks of more rebellion and testing, of idol worship and child sacrifice. Oppression came from an angry God. Soon so too did compassion. The Psalm closes with a plea: “Lord our God, save us! Gather us back together.” Bring us home from this place of exile.

Psalm 107 begins Book 5 with some examples of how God does just that. Gathered from the four directions, the psalmist tells of four groups or types of redeemed people. These cases are generic, allowing us many ways to see how God redeems and can redeem. God redeems those who wander, those who are in gloom and darkness, those who sin, and those who face storms. We all find ourselves in each situation at times. In those times may we remember the God who turns deserts into streams, the God who raises up the needy. May we call on this God, trusting in God’s redeeming and restoring salvation.

Prayer: Lord God, you alone can rescue and you alone can save. You desire to lead and guide us, to teach us your ways. Soften our stubborn hearts and curb our selfish desires, God, so that we can learn and obey. Correct us when we sin, comfort us when we suffer, save us from all that life can bring. Water our dryness, satisfy our hunger. Walk daily with us, O Lord. Amen.


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Rejoice! Celebrate!

Readings: Psalms 90-95

‭Psalm 91:2 – “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my refuge, my stronghold! You are my God — the one I trust!'”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

Today we begin Book 4! We begin with a Psalm attributed to Moses. The Psalm considers the fleeting nature of life. God sweeps humans away “like a dream.” We finish up our years “with a whimper.” So the author invites us to “number our days.” Doing so we learn to live with a “wise heart.” Doing so, life has meaning and purpose.

Psalm 91 petitions God for divine protection. It feels like a counter to Psalm 90. In verse 2 we read, “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my refuge, my stronghold! You are my God — the one I trust!'” The Psalm speaks of God’s protection and saving in times of sickness and trial. It proclaims that if even 1,000 fall dead, we will be ok. This is because God will “order his messengers to help you… to protect you.” While we can feel the psalmist’s trust, we must remember that this is a possibility and not necessarily a promise. The faithful are not immune from the happenings of life.

Psalms 92 and 93 compliment each other. Psalm 92 is a song of thanksgiving for victory. The wicked are like grass – they perish quickly. The righteous are like trees. They will bear fruit in old age. Psalm 93 recognizes God as the one who won’t be shaken, as the one mightier than the flood. Holiness “decorates” God’s house.

Psalm 94 is addressed to the “avenging God.” The arrogant brag and afflict widows, immigrants, and orphans. The God who hears and sees will repay the evil. This God helps the righteous, steadying slipping feet and comforting the anxious. This God is our fortress and our rock of refuge.

This leads us to Psalm 95, a call to worship God. It begins, “Let’s raise a joyful shout.” The “people of his pasture” are called to worship, to bow down, to kneel before the Lord.  A warning against hardening one’s heart closes the Psalm. It is good to offer our praise and thanksgiving to God. It counters our prideful nature and our tendency to turn inward.

Prayer: Lord God, at times we pray as the psalmists pray: steady us, comfort us, forgive us, protect us. At other times we too rejoice in your goodness and love. We celebrate your faithfulness and your justice. Today may our lives sing of your glory, power, and might. Amen.