Our God, here in your temple
we think about your love.
You are famous and praised
everywhere on earth,
as you win victories
with your powerful arm.
Mount Zion will celebrate,
and all Judah will be glad,
because you bring justice.
Let’s walk around Zion
and count its towers.
We will see its strong walls
and visit each fortress.
Then you can say
to future generations,
“Our God is like this forever
and will always guide us.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This morning as I prepared to write this devotional, I must admit that I was conflicted. The world seems turned upside down…senseless terrorism and murder in Paris…displaced and orphaned people by the thousands in the Middle East…people closing their hearts and their “borders” to those who have nowhere to turn…illness and disease…those who are aging and declining – and there is nothing to do but watch it happen…humans in every corner of the world are suffering and troubled…orphans abound in our own back yard, where there are 2 beds for every three children in need. And on top of it all, the weathermen are continually warning that a strong system is approaching with high winds and potentially flooding rains. The list seems unending.
Then I opened my Bible to Psalm 48:9-14 and read these words about the love and power of God Almighty. And I was humbled…and renewed…and encouraged.
- We don’t know what to do with all of the senseless violence and hatred in this world. “Our God is like this forever and will always guide us.”
- We are fearful of helping those we do not know and trust. We are powerless to control the weather. Honestly, we are just a little afraid of virtually everything! ”…You win victories with Your powerful arm.”
- We feel helpless to meet the needs of orphans, the elderly, those who are sick and suffering, the grieving, and those who are homeless and in need. “We will see its [Zion’s] strong walls and visit each fortress…we think about Your love.”
- We are weary and do not know how to keep going. Our faith and confidence have wavered in light of all that is happening, and we cannot see how things will ever improve. “…all Judah will be glad, because You bring justice.”
It’s easy to get caught up in the worry, frustration and grief of current events. We go from faith-filled prayer warriors to spineless wimps afraid of our own shadows in the blink of an eye! And we should all be ashamed. Where is our confidence in God? Where is our affirmation that these claims in Psalm 48 about His power and strength are absolute and indisputable? Are we telling our next generations the truth…or selling them a bill of goods? Because if we do not truly believe – and internalize – what the Bible tells us about God, we really are failing as Christian witnesses and Disciples.
This is the day to “hitch up your britches”…to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps”…to rise up out of your “funk” and get it together in response to God’s call. It’s time to truly honor our gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ by modeling His teachings and affirming that God is everything the scriptures tell us He is. More importantly, it is time for us to live out what God has demonstrated over and again – in our lives and throughout history…to walk and breathe in the truth of His victories and His power, and to validate this to the world at large.
Worry, fear, and a closed heart have no place in the lives of faith-filled Christians. Today is the day to kick these attitudes to the curb, once and for all, and live out God’s truths. Will you stand with me and make this a day of great renewal? Are you really ready to represent our mighty God? Isn’t it time you were?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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