Devotion - May 8
[Psalms 36-40 / Proverbs 8 / Isaiah 30:15-18]
I asked a friend the other day how it was going. “It feels like Groundhog Day...” (Remember the film? Bill Murray’s character is trapped in a life loop, with the same day repeating over and over and over...) One of the Moms involved with our MOPS group said her bed is like an iPhone charging pad - she lays down on it every night to recharge then gets up and depletes the battery all over again the next day.
How is it that our options for activities are so limited, yet the day goes so fast? Who knew that staying at home could be so draining! Here it is Friday already ...
Psalm 40 in our readings today is a favorite - (partly because of the U2 song). Also because of the “patiently” that follows “waited”. We’re all waiting for deliverance, whether from the shut down or the threat of disease that occasions it. But patiently? This implies a deep trust in God’s good action, in God’s good timing, for God’s good purposes. How do we do that when stuck in this wash, rinse, repeat loop each day?
Isaiah’s words in chapter 30 come to mind — in return and rest is your strength... but you would have none of it. Return, as mentioned to some of you in the webinar this past Wednesday, is a relationship word. It is equally well translated ‘repentance’. I like return, however. It reminds us we return to someone - to the God in whom we find rest. And when we resist? (I love this...)
God waits for us. It’s such a surprise in Isaiah 30:18. I expect the “therefore” to say God left them to their anxious running about. Instead it says God waits — to be gracious to you. Remember the Father in the story of the prodigal Son? Waiting... patiently. While we are waiting for God to act to deliver out of these circumstances, God is waiting for us to return and rest in him within these circumstances. We will be met by grace and mercy — sources of rest.
I asked a friend the other day how it was going. “It feels like Groundhog Day...” (Remember the film? Bill Murray’s character is trapped in a life loop, with the same day repeating over and over and over...) One of the Moms involved with our MOPS group said her bed is like an iPhone charging pad - she lays down on it every night to recharge then gets up and depletes the battery all over again the next day.
How is it that our options for activities are so limited, yet the day goes so fast? Who knew that staying at home could be so draining! Here it is Friday already ...
Psalm 40 in our readings today is a favorite - (partly because of the U2 song). Also because of the “patiently” that follows “waited”. We’re all waiting for deliverance, whether from the shut down or the threat of disease that occasions it. But patiently? This implies a deep trust in God’s good action, in God’s good timing, for God’s good purposes. How do we do that when stuck in this wash, rinse, repeat loop each day?
Isaiah’s words in chapter 30 come to mind — in return and rest is your strength... but you would have none of it. Return, as mentioned to some of you in the webinar this past Wednesday, is a relationship word. It is equally well translated ‘repentance’. I like return, however. It reminds us we return to someone - to the God in whom we find rest. And when we resist? (I love this...)
God waits for us. It’s such a surprise in Isaiah 30:18. I expect the “therefore” to say God left them to their anxious running about. Instead it says God waits — to be gracious to you. Remember the Father in the story of the prodigal Son? Waiting... patiently. While we are waiting for God to act to deliver out of these circumstances, God is waiting for us to return and rest in him within these circumstances. We will be met by grace and mercy — sources of rest.
Posted in Devotions