psalm 27

Psalm 27 (NRSV)
4 One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
6 Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, do I seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 If my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
[1]

Lord,

In one line, the poet is full of confidence and in the next he is not so sure. In one line, he knows that you will protect him and in the next he is begging for protection as though his firm confidence is losing its grip.

Confidence: “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble….”
Less confidence: “Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!”
Confidence Again: “If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.”

So why is this important to me? Why do I see this so quickly? It is as though my heart is looking into the mirror image of itself: faith and less faith, confidence and less confidence and not confidence and then confidence again. I know all about that!

So, Lord, I say to myself as the poet said, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! “

For you I wait, seeking strength for the season and courage for all that meets me today.

It’s the Advent season and the economy is going into the tank. Never in my life have I seen such a conspiracy between the corrupt and the incompetent in high places. And the irony is this, if a man steals a purse, he can go to jail. When a man drives a company into the ditch and thousands of people lose jobs and health care and pensions, that man gets a golden parachute! I know, it’s not the same but there ought to be some kind of accountability somewhere. From those, to whom much is given, much is required.

Lord, it’s all above me. Help us please,

PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Ask God for the courage and faith that you need for today.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “Thank you” to God.
In Christ’s name,
Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989