music :: worship :: life
The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.—Deuteronomy 33:27
Where do I put my trust? Will my friends protect me? Will they stand up for me? Will money or power or influence save me? Can I put my trust in the government? Can I put my trust in the leaders of the church? Who will hold me up if I stumble? Who will lift me if I fall? Who will counsel me or offer sage advice? Who will guide me on the right path? Who will stand by me in times of need?
No one but God. No worldly things will last, and those who trust in them will find themselves without a net. No human being in this fallen world will be faithful and true. Presidents, congressmen, and captains of industry have all found their wealth, power, and influence to be of no avail. Absolute power and the wealth of an empire could not save Caesar from the treachery of his friends. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Even Jesus was betrayed and deserted by his closest companions.
Only in the arms of God—”his everlasting arms”—is there refuge safe and secure. There must I flee. There must I seek sanctuary. There must I make my enduring home.
All the earthly things I build may fall, and all the people I love betray me, but wrapped safe in the embrace of God’s everlasting arms, I will stand firm and secure always.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The LORD upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.—Psalm 145:13-16
The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites.’ Say to them:“The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”—Numbers 6:22-26
Lord, how I long for your blessing. How I long to please you. How I long to know that you have accepted me.
Lord, how long must I wander in this wilderness? How long must I struggle companionless, without succor, seeking unaided for your water of life in a dry and barren land?
Why do you withhold your mercy from me? To whom can I turn if not you? Who else will quench my thirst? Who else can satisfy the deep longing of my soul?
Why do you continue to hide from me? Why do you continue to withhold your blessing? A year ago I was afire with your Spirit—I was alive with hope, with joy, with firm confidence in your love. I was secure in the knowledge that you had plans for me.
But why, Lord, did you abandon me? Where were you when my friends turned against me? Why did you let Satan lure them into a conspiracy of sin and evil? Why did you let him destroy all I had worked so hard and so long to build for you? How could you let Satan use my closest companions so mercilessly to ravage this church and its most dynamic ministries?
Why did you allow his schemes to steal my hope, my joy, my trust, my confidence?
If you have plans for me, where are they? I heard your call, and answered. I was so sure I knew what you wanted. Please, Lord, look upon me and smile again. Please, Lord, restore your favor to me and give me your peace.
Still, every day, I bless your name on this “road marked with suffering.” There has been little but pain in the offering the past year. Please, Lord, show me a sign of your favor. My soul cries out for you. My soul has seen little but turmoil for a year, and only you can give me peace.
Lord, where is your smile?
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
—Exodus 3:4-5
So many things distract my attention and draw me away from worshiping you.
I get distracted by my frustration with the imperfections of the people around me. So often I feel as though I am surrounded by people doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. I know this is an overstatement; most are doing many of the right things, too. But that is how it feels. And I would rather surround myself with people whose hearts are right. I know there are many out there who are doing what look like the right things for all the wrong reasons.
More often, though, I am distracted by my frustration with myself—my inability to overcome some of my most ingrained self-defeating habits and patterns of thinking.
Lord, how can I prepare myself to meet you? Direct me. I know that all around me is your Holy Ground. Every place I go is a place you have sanctified for your own work. But, Lord, I cannot get these shoes off my feet. Oh, how I long to warm my bare soles upon the sand you sanctified. How my feet cry out like hungry puppies, blind and whimpering— Seeking your warmth, your comfort, your presence, and the all-encompassing fulness that only comes from your embrace.
Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him.—Genesis 39:20-21
I am a prisoner. I am locked away. I am shut up in a cell. But the walls of my cell are not of stone or steel or mortar, but are of choices, habits, attitudes, memories, fears, reactions . . .
Lord, you promised to Joseph, “I will be with you.” You promised to Moses, you promised to Gideon, you promised to Paul: “I will be with you.” And you have promised to me, “I will be with you.” Because of your unfailing love—because of your steadfastness, your loyalty—even now you are with me. As I struggle to focus on this. As my painful memories, my griefs, my shames, my anger, fight for my attention. They struggle and clamour and catch me up in a tornado of competing emotions. But always you are there. When I fix my mind upon the certainty of your steadfast love, my hope is restored.
I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him.
—Lamentations 3:20-25
I see what you have done for Joseph. Again and again, he left all hope behind. Everything was taken from him. He lost it all when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He built a mercantile empire in Potiphar’s service, but lost it all when he was thrown into prison. You could have saved him from prison, but instead, you went with him into prison. As successful as he was, he was still a slave. And you had greater plans for him. All his labor was only enriching Potiphar and earning himself an easy post and life of luxury.
He lost it all again, but you went with him and brought him to Pharaoh. You had a master plan, and what Joseph was doing was not enough. You needed him for something more important.
So where am I in this? A prisoner? A slave? What plans do you have for me?
The song on the way to work this morning said, “The only thing I never question is You. You really love me like you say you do.”
A definition of Lectio Divina and a description of how I use it can be found on the following page: What is Lectio Divina?
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