Thursday, March 10, 2022
Scripture: Psalm 27.1, 4, 13-14
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
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.
I am confident of this: I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord: be strong, and let your heart take courage;
Wait for the Lord.
Devotion:
Maeve has a new book that she loves. It is a child’s version of Psalm 23, and the pictures all display this tiny lamb that goes to the still waters and the dark, scary lonely places, and who is pursued by a wonderful shepherd. Maeve is in love with the tiny lamb (the “ish,” as she calls it), and especially is captivated by the picture of the lamb in the “dark, scary, lonely places.” Today, as I read Psalm 27, a different psalm but with a similar theme, the images that comes to mind are the page about the “dark, scary, lonely places” and the image of the shepherd running to be with the lamb.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
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.
I am confident of this: I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord: be strong, and let your heart take courage;
Wait for the Lord.
Devotion:
Maeve has a new book that she loves. It is a child’s version of Psalm 23, and the pictures all display this tiny lamb that goes to the still waters and the dark, scary lonely places, and who is pursued by a wonderful shepherd. Maeve is in love with the tiny lamb (the “ish,” as she calls it), and especially is captivated by the picture of the lamb in the “dark, scary, lonely places.” Today, as I read Psalm 27, a different psalm but with a similar theme, the images that comes to mind are the page about the “dark, scary, lonely places” and the image of the shepherd running to be with the lamb.
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Psalm 27 shows up in our lectionary this week to remind us to wait for the Lord. Ugh. Waiting. No one likes waiting. Especially not when so many things are just a click away on our phones. Especially when the pandemic has been 2 years of seemingly unending waiting. No. Thanks. The image of the lamb in the dark, scary, lonely places, waiting for the aid of the coming shepherd is piercing to my soul. It feels like our world is waiting in the dark, scary, lonely places for the living God to come in. The ever-escalading and terrifying violence in Ukraine. Conflict in Israel-Palestine and the Middle East. Never-ending scandals on the news. And as we enter Lent, we as people are in a period of waiting for the Lord’s glory to be revealed. How and when and where will we meet God in the land of the living? How and when and where will we enter into God’s courts with praise and singing?
As you sit in the dark, scary, lonely places of life, I pray this day that you will be able to wait for the Lord. I pray that you will wait with patience and hope to see and experience the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Join me on Sunday as we explore this hope and waiting period together.
As you sit in the dark, scary, lonely places of life, I pray this day that you will be able to wait for the Lord. I pray that you will wait with patience and hope to see and experience the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Join me on Sunday as we explore this hope and waiting period together.