Psalm 97
Passage:
1 The Lord rules!
Let the earth rejoice!
Let all
the islands celebrate!
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround God.
His
throne is built
on
righteousness and justice.
3 Fire proceeds before him,
burning
up his enemies on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth
sees it and trembles!
5 The mountains melt like wax
before
the Lord,
before
the Lord of the whole world!
6 Heaven has proclaimed
God’s
righteousness,
and all
nations have seen his glory.
7 All those who worship images,
those who
are proud of idols,
are put
to shame.
All gods
bow down to the Lord!
8 Zion has heard and celebrates,
the towns
of Judah rejoice,
because
of your acts of justice, Lord,
9 because you, Lord,
are the Most High
over all
the earth,
because
you are so superior
to all
other gods.
10 Those of you who love the Lord,
hate
evil!
God
guards the lives of his faithful ones,
delivering
them from
the power
of the wicked.
11 Light is planted like seed
for the
righteous person;
joy too
for those whose heart is right.
12 Rejoice in the Lord,
righteous ones!
Give
thanks to his holy name! [1]
Reflection:
We know
that God is creator of the heavens and the earth. We know that God rules righteously over creation with
justice and love. We know God takes care of us. We know that God is always
there with us.
Yet
sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.
In fact, sometimes we feel all alone, abandoned, like no one really
cares about us at all. We imagine that God has abandoned us.
Except,
that’s not the truth. Those are the moments when we can remember the truth. The
truth is that God is not only with us, God is giving us the strength to
continue. God is giving us the Holy Spirit so that we can know that we are
never alone, never forsaken, and that God does really, truly, indeed care about
us and our welfare.
So, what
we can do is live a testimony like the psalmist wrote. That no matter where we are, we can
thank God. We can remember God’s goodness. We can overcome our own bad day,
week, or month by remembering that God is working through us because God loves
us too much to allow us remain as we are.
That’s something worth telling others about.
Reflection Questions:
Morning: How can you see God’s goodness today?
Morning: How can you see God’s goodness today?
Noon: How can you help others see God’s goodness?
Evening: How can you help
yourself remember the goodness of God on your worst days?
Prayer: Lord, help us to remember
that when we stumble, you pick us up. May we live a life that demonstrates how
you have rescued, healed, and resurrected us.
No comments:
Post a Comment